Jeff Jarrett files lawsuit against Anthem Sports & Entertainment

The King of the Mountain has gone to war with Anthem Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of Impact Wrestling.

 


 

PWInsider has reported that Jeff Jarrett and Global Force Wrestling have filed a lawsuit against Anthem and requested a jury trial in an attempt to stop Anthem from copying, distributing, selling, offering for sale and displaying GFW Amped content. Among the 26-page lawsuit, here are some of the bullet points of Jarrett and GFW’s suit.

  • Violated state and federal trademark infringements in relation to GFE.
  • Violated Jeff Jarrett’s exclusive property rights to his own name, photograph, and other likenesses.
  • Anthem has used a “reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of the GLOBAL FORCE WRESTLING and GFW trademarks” in commerce, and are in violation of the Lanham Act, which prohibits trademark infringement, dilution, and false advertising.

The suit also goes over the point in 2016 when Global Force Entertainment and Anthem were looking to merge, bringing Global Force and Impact together. The merger would’ve included membership and equity in Anthem and a position as Chief Creative Officer for Jarrett.

The two companies signed a non-disclosure agreement on December 9, 2016, and Jarrett signed a consultant deal with Anthem the following January, handing over the only footage for the 16 episodes of GFW Amped TV. GFE claims that Anthem is still in possession of that footage.

Originally, the merger was set to go through, with Jarrett and Anthem signing a deal in May 2017 which brought the WWE Hall of Famer in as Chief Creative Officer of Anthem Wrestling, and signed an agreement for a merger that would give Anthem the rights to GFW Amped.

Jarrett claims that both parties announced that the merger didn’t go through after Anthem had terminated Jarrett and that GFE still had ownership over Amped. However, they still reproduced, distributed, offered and sold the series without loyalties to Jarrett or GFE.

The suit also brings up that merchandise and DVDs including GFW logos have been sold by Anthem via the Impact Wrestling website. Jarrett and GFW state that Anthem doesn’t have the license to use any Amped footage or content, Jarrett’s name or image, or the GFE trademarks associated with Amped.

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