Anthem Wrestling is asking a judge to dismiss Jeff Jarrett‘s copyright infringement lawsuit for several reasons, according to new documents.
As reported by PWInsider, Anthem filed motions last week with the United States District Court of Tennessee attempting to have the recently amended lawsuit dismissed.
While Jarrett alleges copyright infringement in regards to Impact airing GFW content as pay-per-views, the motion states no copyrights had been filed on the content prior to Jeff filing a lawsuit. They also claim to have aired all but one of the specials while he was employed by the company.
The filing goes on to explain the nature of the GFW/Anthem merger, stating that “Jarrett’s company would merge into Anthem Wrestling in exchange for an officer-level position with a large salary, a job for Jarrett’s wife, and an equity interest in Anthem Wrestling.” The filing then claims that, as Chief Creative Officer, it was actually Jarrett himself that would oversee the release of the GFW content.
The document notes, “Remarkably, Mr. Jarrett is suing over the very conduct that he oversaw and conducted as an officer of Anthem Wrestling.”
The company also disputes Jarrett’s claim that Anthem “violated [his] exclusive property rights to his own name, photograph, and other likeness,” arguing that they took over a trademark on the name “Jeff Jarrett” after acquiring Impact Ventures, LLC from Dixie Carter.
In response to Jeff’s claims of state and federal trademark infringements, Anthem argues Global Force Wrestling LLC’s trademark filing for “GFW” actually featured the cover art of Impact’s GFW Amped! DVD release. This would imply that Jarrett himself provided proof of Impact’s existing permission to use the GFW logo and name.
A second motion filed by Anthem explains that Anthem Sports is a holding company based in Canada, and as such would not be subject to the jurisdiction of the District Court of Tennessee.
Anthem additionally alleges that when Jeff Jarrett came in as Chief Creative Officer for Anthem, part of his non-disclosure agreement included a clause stipulating any legal issues that may arise would be subject to New York law. Thus, Anthem could not be sued in Tennessee.
The motions filed by Anthem also make reference to a declaration from Ed Nordholm, Executive VP of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, in which Nordholm explains that “Anthem Wrestling was formed in order to acquire the assets of an entity called TNA Entertainment LLC, when Fight Media foreclosed on certain loans to that entity.”
This basically means Dixie Carter was unable to repay the loan given to Impact after Billy Corgan stopped funding the company in October 2016, allowing Anthem to foreclose and claim ownership.
The ball is now in the court of Jarrett and GWE, who will have to respond to Anthem’s motions before the court issues its rulings on whether or not the case will proceed.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
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