Eriq Gardner of The Hollywood Reporter is featuring an article regarding former WWE star Rene Dupree (Rene Goguen) filing a puntative class-action lawsuit against WWE claiming he and other former talents have not been paid any royalties since the launch of the WWE Network or content being featured on Netflix.
The complaint, filed in a Connecticut federal court, states Dupree signed a “booking contract” back in 2003 where WWE took ownership over a “wide swath of intellectual property” that includes his nickname, personality, character, costumes, props, gimmicks, gestures, routines and themes. WWE, in return, would be required to pay out 25 percent of net receipts to any former talent featured on video cassettes, video discs, CD-ROMs or “other technology, including technology not yet created” consisting of PPV videos.
The network has featured video of past live pay-per-view and based on the lawsuit filed by Dupree, this falls under the definition of “other technology, including technology not yet created” in the booking contract. The lawsuit, represented by attorneys Clinton Krislov and Brenden Leydon, aims to represent any former talent that agreed to similar booking contracts with WWE between the years of 1980 to present day and asserts a “breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment and a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.”
WWE lead attorney Jerry McDevitt responded to the story by The Hollywood Reporter stating that Dupree’s lawsuit against the company has only one problem: he signed a contract back in 2011 that “destroys his ability to bring these types of claims.” McDevitt added that he informed Dupree’s lawyer this week about the contract signed in 2011 and noted, “His response back indicates he did not know about it.” McDevitt declined to comment any further and was described as expressing a general “lack of worry” when it comes to this lawsuit brought against the company.
You can check out the full article at the link below.
The Hollywood Reporter: WWE Hit With Class Action Over Streaming Royalties