WWE Sues THQ, Again

Brendan over at GameSpot News continues the in-depth coverage of the ongoing WWE vs. THQ lawsuits that I started so very long ago.

Apparently, while the first suit continues to chug its way through the courts, the pro wrestlers have sued the game makers again, this time alleging that they unlawfully granted sub-licenses without WWE's permission:

WWE is claiming that THQ sublicensed out the rights to games based on the wrestling organization for at least the last five years when it didn't have the rights to do so. For one thing, WWE says that THQ never had any kind of a license agreement with the wrestling company in the first place; its deals were made with THQ-Jakks Pacific, a separate joint venture half-owned by the publisher and half-owned by WWE's toy license-holder Jakks Pacific.

When the first suit hit, I got the feeling that WWE's beef with THQ was really against Jakks Pacific and that THQ just ended up tied up in the whole thing. Relations between the two companies seemed fine at the time; they continued to sponsor events together and bring gaming journos to Wrestlemania events, for example. But things don't seem to be getting any better. I wonder how long the lucrative WWE gaming license will stay with THQ...