Global Force Wrestling President Ed Nordholm recently did an interview with Sports Illustrated to talk about a number of topics. During the interview, the hot topic of discussion was the battle for the rights to the “Broken” gimmick between GFW and The Hardys. Here are some highlights from what Nordholm had to say:
Typically, the producer of a show owns the content and associated characters. The Hardys have stated they’ve spent thousands of their own dollars on producing the “Broken Universe” footage (ie. Jeff Hardy spent $3,000 on the volcano used in the “Apocolypto” episode) — so does that entitle them to any ownership of the Broken Universe trademarks?
“No,” Nordholm said. “The company spent millions of dollars producing television last year, including all of the shows that incorporate the various aspects of the ‘Broken Brilliance.’ I don’t know whether Jeff and Matt had some out-of-pocket expenses that they might have had on the volcano and the like, but that would not change, in any way, shape, or form, what their contracts say about who owns the IP. If they had some out-of-pocket expenses, they certainly never brought them to my attention. To suggest that they somehow funded the show is absurd.”
Sports Illustrated reported that both the Hardys and Anthem were close to an agreement that would have sold the “Broken Universe” intellectual property for somewhere between $10-15,000, but it fell apart when Anthem reportedly increased its financial demands from the Hardys. Was there ever a deal in place?
Nordholm answered, “What prevented it from completion is that we’ve never come to terms. I have made numerous efforts, going back to February and the time of the cease and desist letter [to Ring of Honor for advertising the ‘Broken’ Hardys for their 15th Anniversary pay per view] to make an arrangement with Matt Hardy to use the gimmick. Every time we have those conversations, they sort of start warm then end up not coming to fruition due to an inability to come to an agreement as to what basis I would confer those rates on him.”
Looking ahead, Nordholm was asked if he ever intends to sell the intellectual property.
“I’ve stopped thinking about this,” he said. “We have a show to put on, and a company and a brand. We’ve got things on our plate that are more important than sorting out the “Broken Brilliance.” I made a genuine effort to resolve something to benefit the Hardys as a goodwill gesture to Matt. It didn’t reach a conclusion and we’re moving on. We’re not going back to it, I’m not interested in opening a new dialogue, I’m not interested in opening another conversation about it. We made our best effort, it didn’t happen, and I’m not going to negotiate all over again.”
You can read Nordholm’s full interview with Sports Illustrated by clicking this link here.
