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Atari has settled a dispute with FUNimation Productions Ltd. that will allow the struggling company to retain publishing rights for the Dragon Ball Z franchise through January 2010.
Today, Atari announced that it reached a settlement with FUNimation that includes a cash payment of $2.7 million and $800,000 in royalty payment reductions. Atari originally paid FUNimation $10 million in January 2004 to secure the exclusive interactive U.S. rights for the Dragon Ball Z franchise for six years.
In October, Atari received notice from FUNimation that the DBZ license-holder was preparing to terminate Atari's rights to distribute software based on the franchise. At issue were the results of an audit that found Atari owed FUNimation "under certain sublicense agreements and other matters."
"With this dispute behind Atari, Inc. we look forward to continuing our relationship with FUNimation and continuing to deliver to our consumers exciting products from the Dragon Ball Z franchise," said Curtis G. Solsvig III, Chief Restructuring Officer of Atari, Inc.
In a separate announcement, Atari said today that it has reached an agreement with one of its lenders, BlueBay High Yield Investments, that will increase the company's line of credit from $10 million to $14 million. The extension will enable Atari to continue its operations through the holiday season.
BlueBay is also a major investor in Atari parent company Infogrames, and as a condition of the credit line increase, Atari has agreed to gradually scale back its involvement with the France-based company.
Under the terms of the deal, Atari has terminated its previous distribution and licensing agreement with Infogrames and entered into a new agreement, which includes the following terms:
- Atari will distribute Infogrames' products in North America for the next three years, but the deal could be cut two years if Atari doesn't meet performance targets.
- Atari will retain 30% of the net receipts from the distribution of Infogrames' products
- Atari, Inc. has licensed back to Infogrames the use of the "Atari" trademark in North America in connection with the URL www.atari.com
- Atari has terminated its existing corporate management and service contracts with Infogrames
Previously, Atari also announced a reduction in its workforce, which included its production and development employees being transferred to Infogrames.
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Today, Atari announced that it reached a settlement with FUNimation that includes a cash payment of $2.7 million and $800,000 in royalty payment reductions. Atari originally paid FUNimation $10 million in January 2004 to secure the exclusive interactive U.S. rights for the Dragon Ball Z franchise for six years.
In October, Atari received notice from FUNimation that the DBZ license-holder was preparing to terminate Atari's rights to distribute software based on the franchise. At issue were the results of an audit that found Atari owed FUNimation "under certain sublicense agreements and other matters."
"With this dispute behind Atari, Inc. we look forward to continuing our relationship with FUNimation and continuing to deliver to our consumers exciting products from the Dragon Ball Z franchise," said Curtis G. Solsvig III, Chief Restructuring Officer of Atari, Inc.
In a separate announcement, Atari said today that it has reached an agreement with one of its lenders, BlueBay High Yield Investments, that will increase the company's line of credit from $10 million to $14 million. The extension will enable Atari to continue its operations through the holiday season.
BlueBay is also a major investor in Atari parent company Infogrames, and as a condition of the credit line increase, Atari has agreed to gradually scale back its involvement with the France-based company.
Under the terms of the deal, Atari has terminated its previous distribution and licensing agreement with Infogrames and entered into a new agreement, which includes the following terms:
- Atari will distribute Infogrames' products in North America for the next three years, but the deal could be cut two years if Atari doesn't meet performance targets.
- Atari will retain 30% of the net receipts from the distribution of Infogrames' products
- Atari, Inc. has licensed back to Infogrames the use of the "Atari" trademark in North America in connection with the URL www.atari.com
- Atari has terminated its existing corporate management and service contracts with Infogrames
Previously, Atari also announced a reduction in its workforce, which included its production and development employees being transferred to Infogrames.
link