Duck Commander embroiled in contract disputes
On behalf of Kadish & Associates Law Group posted in Contract Disputes on Thursday, February 18, 2016.
Many companies here in Arizona and throughout the country enter into contracts with celebrities, television shows and movie production companies, among others, to help market their products. Those contracts can mean increased sales and substantial revenue for all involved. Considering the fact that several thousand — or even millions — of dollars are at stake, contract disputes can easily lead to litigation.
Chinook USA LLC entered into a contract with Duck Commander Inc. to market its drinks. The contract allegedly gave Chinook a license and exclusive rights to use Duck Commander’s images and trademarks to manufacture, sell and market ready-made drinks. The term of the contract was for five years. Payments were promised to Duck Commander that would be worth millions of dollars over the life of the contract.
However, Chinook claims that Duck Commander has not fulfilled its part of the contract. In addition, the company claims that it found out that Duck Commander might not have even had the right to enter into the contract in the first place. Furthermore, the company did not discover this until it had already paid the company behind the reality television series “Duck Dynasty” approximately $1.75 million. Chinook further alleges that other companies also had licensing agreements for the same products.
In light of all of these contract disputes, Chinook filed suit against Duck Commander Inc. and others. If an Arizona company finds itself in a similar position, it too could file litigation in the absence of some other form of acceptable resolution. Before doing so, however, it would be beneficial to understand the legal issues and determine how best to proceed.
Source: louisianarecord.com, “Chinook USA alleges breach of contract in dispute over licensing of Duck Commander drinks”, Hoang Tran, Feb. 5, 2016