Posted September 15, 200520 yr comment_3442409 Besides the Dudley Boyz issue, now even Ivory is being told she can't use that name anymore. Is Vince afraid TNA is going to shoot to the moon on the drawing power of Ivory, Spike Dudley, and Kidman?
September 16, 200520 yr Author comment_3443072 I can't wait for the day someone calls them on their bullshit and challenges them to back up their threats. WWE's legal team has proven all they're good at is stepping on their own dicks, and now they want to argue guys they already determined can't draw are somehow going to damage WWE by working indy shows.
September 16, 200520 yr comment_3443163 Actually, WWE is fully within their rights in this case. There is something called precedent that could be used in court later if, say, the Undertaker jumped to TNA. If they allow it to happen, they're leaving themselves wide open to have their intellectual property stolen in the future. It's just smart business.
September 16, 200520 yr Author comment_3443286 In some cases yes. In others, they don't have a leg to stand on. Some of the guys they're harrassing (I think Kidman and Justin Credible at least) used their ring names before they ever worked for WWE or a company that was bought by WWE. There's also the argument that (besides the argument that guys they release are by definition not huge draws and shouldn't pose a threat to the company) there's tons of former WWE guys working the indy circuit who WWE have never gone after. Hell, Mick Foley was working for ROH and I'm sure WWE copyrighted stuff like Mr. Socko (since they made Socko shirt, I'm sure they did) and they didn't go after him. Not to mention the 4.7 million Doink the Clowns across the indy circuit.
September 16, 200520 yr comment_3443939 In some cases yes. In others, they don't have a leg to stand on. Some of the guys they're harrassing (I think Kidman and Justin Credible at least) used their ring names before they ever worked for WWE or a company that was bought by WWE. There's also the argument that (besides the argument that guys they release are by definition not huge draws and shouldn't pose a threat to the company) there's tons of former WWE guys working the indy circuit who WWE have never gone after. Hell, Mick Foley was working for ROH and I'm sure WWE copyrighted stuff like Mr. Socko (since they made Socko shirt, I'm sure they did) and they didn't go after him. Not to mention the 4.7 million Doink the Clowns across the indy circuit. WWE has a quiet working agreement with ROH, which is why they don't object to Foley doing his gimmick there and didn't pull Matt Hardy, CM Punk and others once they signed or re-signed with the WWE.
September 16, 200520 yr comment_3444367 For what it's worth, Meltz said on this past week's WOL that if the Duds were to fight the Fed in court, he thinks that they could win because of their verbal agreement with Paul Heyman. Also, is Billy Kidman his real name or is it a ring name only?
September 16, 200520 yr comment_3447838 The one thing that's been bothering me the most about this: Why the hell did they wait two years to go after Justin Credible if they're so damn concerned with their "intellectual property" rights?
September 16, 200520 yr comment_3450423 I think it's more routine than anything. Every couple of years the WWE does this sort of things especially with the internet and their intellectual properties, think of it as spring cleaning.
