CM Punk’s Lawyers Sends Letter to WWE Over Royalties

[Dean F'n Ambrose]

And the last line on the 22nd page said... "... And here the f**k are my ice cream bars?!"

[BigJerichool222]

TWENTY-TWO!?

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

I will laugh if it is Punk who in *REAL LIFE* actually gets WWE to change some of their policies...

[Deleted]

I think it would be best for WWE to pay him whatever he's owed. Punk seems like the type of guy who would bring up that whole "independent contractor" stuff and WWE doesn't seem like they'd want to deal with that.

[Lancers]

I bet Punk's lawyer is probably as good of a wordsmith as his client. If the first page doesn't start with the line "Jerry McDevitt, while you subpoena there hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be...", I'm gonna be greatly disappointed.

[Deleted]

Sept 3, 2014 16:36:00 GMT -5 xCompackx said:

Sept 3, 2014 16:28:03 GMT -5 @notoriousnd22 said:

Yeah... can we not pass judgement on legality already when all we know about the situation is 2 sentences of reporting?

Well, I think we have enough to speculate at least. If WWE isn't paying Punk to use his likeness in 2K15 or whatever it may be, there's a case there. Plus, I have a feeling that "breach of contract" doesn't work so well if they're independent contractors, but who knows.

2K15 isn't even out yet. How do we know they won't pay him royalties when the royalties don't exist yet? Did they tell him he wasn't going to get paid for it? Because if so, that is pretty shitty.

But yeah. I don't know the law well enough to judge this situation. I wish other people would admit the same. I just wish boliever and his ace family attorney were still around to break it down for us.

[thelonewolf527]

Can't they then also sue Punk for breach of contract since he refused to come to work? I mean the guy got paid to sit at home and do nothing, he should be lucky he got that much

Not to mention 2K15 isn't even out yet so I don't see how he'd be getting royalties from that

[Deleted]

Sept 3, 2014 16:11:32 GMT -5 @akeem said:

You could just see it coming, people are calling the WWE on their bullshit these days. It's only a matter of time until the independent contractor bullshit gets brought to light.

I watched a clip of the Comic Con with Hogan, Bryan, and Heyman as guests, and a fan asked Bryan how they get paid per PPV with the Network, and Bryan's response was "I don't think anyone knows how that works" (in a funny moment, Hogan ducks his head, and Cole changes the subject shortly after).

The Network might be the trigger point to massive change. I can't speak for the wrestlers, but I'm assuming when things are going well and they are getting paid, they won't rock the boat, but the moment things become shaky with their pay-offs (like with the Network now), that's when they'll start to speak up a bit. Del Rio and Punk may just be the starting point if the WWE doesn't get their act together.

[Deleted]

It was originally going to be 21 pages, but Punk decided to honor Jake the Snake by telling his lawyer to make it 22 pages.

The 22nd page mentions all the ice cream bars, as Dean F'n Ambrose said.

[BorneAgain]

If I don't see a petty, childish, and bushleague quasi-burial of Punk on Raw (possibly including but not limited to CP Munk/CM Skunk), part of me will be a little disappointed.

[xxshoyuweeniexx]

Sept 3, 2014 16:47:49 GMT -5 thelonewolf527 said:

Can't they then also sue Punk for breach of contract since he refused to come to work? I mean the guy got paid to sit at home and do nothing, he should be lucky he got that much

Not to mention 2K15 isn't even out yet so I don't see how he'd be getting royalties from that

It's not like he left without telling anyone. He told them he was done, he worked all the dates in his contract and didn't want to extend it to do more dates, and it was over. They don't have much of a case.

Not sure how royalties, even though 2K15 isn't even out yet, work in this situation though.

[cjh]

Sept 3, 2014 16:25:23 GMT -5 Dr. T is an alien said:

Sept 3, 2014 16:19:55 GMT -5 Mid-Carder said:

I don't understand this. Since when can WWE only use the likenesses of people employed by them?

WWE, or anyone for that matter, can only use the likenesses of people whom they pay for the right to do so. They can continue to sell things from their tape library and other materials generated during their contract, but they still have to pay royalties (it is what Ventura successfully sued them over).

That's not why Jesse sued.  He sued because he gave up his right to be paid royalties every time he signed a new deal in the late-1980s but did so based on false information WWE gave him.

WWE beat Doug Somers in court in 2013 after he sued over not being paid when WWE used AWA matches with him on various DVDs and Classics On Demand.  Martha Hart also lost when she tried to challenge WWE's right to use footage of Owen.  That's why there's no Owen toys or appearances in WWE video games, yet he's all over the Network and many WWE Home Video releases.  One requires his wife's permission, the other doesn't.

Footage is controlled by whoever owns it.  Non-WWE companies also use their video library at will.  When Punk was having his big run in 2011, TNA released a bunch of his 2003/2004 TNA matches on their old video-on-demand site.  There was even a AJ Lee DVD released in 2012 by one of the indy groups she used to work.

Video games and toys are a different animal.  Mattel is always saying how they can't make figures of non-current talent unless that talent makes a deal with WWE or with them directly (with WWE's blessing).  The same went for Jakks when they made WWE toys.

[Shark]

Sept 3, 2014 16:37:26 GMT -5 BigJerichool222 said:

TWENTY-TWO!?

Legit made me do a spit take lol

[Perd]

Is it too late to put a post-it over his face on 2K15?

[thelonewolf527]

Sept 3, 2014 16:53:56 GMT -5 xxshoyuweeniexx said:

Sept 3, 2014 16:47:49 GMT -5 thelonewolf527 said:

Can't they then also sue Punk for breach of contract since he refused to come to work? I mean the guy got paid to sit at home and do nothing, he should be lucky he got that much

Not to mention 2K15 isn't even out yet so I don't see how he'd be getting royalties from that

It's not like he left without telling anyone. He told them he was done, he worked all the dates in his contract and didn't want to extend it to do more dates, and it was over. They don't have much of a case.

Not sure how royalties, even though 2K15 isn't even out yet, work in this situation though.

Worked all the dates in his contract? His contract went until July of this year, so he walked out with 6 months left. He technically isn't owed anything after that date if the wording of the contract says he doesn't own what he did while under contract. WWE's just nice enough to give people royalties, even when they probably don't have to.

[Dean F'n Ambrose]

Sept 3, 2014 16:53:56 GMT -5 xxshoyuweeniexx said:

Sept 3, 2014 16:47:49 GMT -5 thelonewolf527 said:

Can't they then also sue Punk for breach of contract since he refused to come to work? I mean the guy got paid to sit at home and do nothing, he should be lucky he got that much

Not to mention 2K15 isn't even out yet so I don't see how he'd be getting royalties from that

It's not like he left without telling anyone. He told them he was done, he worked all the dates in his contract and didn't want to extend it to do more dates, and it was over. They don't have much of a case.

Not sure how royalties, even though 2K15 isn't even out yet, work in this situation though.

His contract wasn't up in January. It was up in July. He had tons of more dates to work.

[DrBackflipsHoffman]

Whether he's right or wrong, i'm always going to hope anybody going after WWE legally f***s them up the ass. I find it absolutely impossible to side with them over anything at all.

[Dr. T is an alien]

Sept 3, 2014 16:36:00 GMT -5 xCompackx said:

Sept 3, 2014 16:28:03 GMT -5 @notoriousnd22 said:

Yeah... can we not pass judgement on legality already when all we know about the situation is 2 sentences of reporting?

Well, I think we have enough to speculate at least. If WWE isn't paying Punk to use his likeness in 2K15 or whatever it may be, there's a case there. Plus, I have a feeling that "breach of contract" doesn't work so well if they're independent contractors, but who knows.

I doubt it would work at all if they kept paying him until the contract expired just to be sure that he could not work for anyone else. Under those circumstances one could argue that the terms of the contract were fulfilled or else they would have stopped paying him a salary.

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

Punks gonna win the case, but it's gonna be a long process if this goes to trial, McDevitt is gonna delay and delay the proceedings, it's gonna cost him a ton on attorney's fees, and like the Lesnar trial, they stop sending him royalty checks.

[BigWill]

Sept 3, 2014 16:53:56 GMT -5 xxshoyuweeniexx said:

Sept 3, 2014 16:47:49 GMT -5 thelonewolf527 said:

Can't they then also sue Punk for breach of contract since he refused to come to work? I mean the guy got paid to sit at home and do nothing, he should be lucky he got that much

Not to mention 2K15 isn't even out yet so I don't see how he'd be getting royalties from that

It's not like he left without telling anyone. He told them he was done, he worked all the dates in his contract and didn't want to extend it to do more dates, and it was over. They don't have much of a case.

Not sure how royalties, even though 2K15 isn't even out yet, work in this situation though.

I seriously doubt that the WWE would have CM Punk sign a contract that ended right before WrestleMania.