Manhattan, Automoblox Dispute Won't Be Resolved Before Toy Fair
Playthings Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 12/17/2010 11:45:44 AM
Minneapolis, MN - A legal wrangle between Automoblox and Manhattan Toy over who has the right to sell the Automoblox wooden car construction toys won't be settled till a hearing on February 8, 2011, at the earliest.
Manhattan Toy sued Automoblox Co. in September, saying the company violated its licensing agreement with Manhattan Toy by selling products directly online, interfered with Manhattan Toy's business relationships, failed to acknowledge Manhattan Toy's valid renewal of the companies' license agreement, and failed to provide Manhattan Toy with access to new designs, as well as trying to block factory shipments.
Automoblox chief creative officer and founder Patrick Calello denied wrongdoing and claimed Manhattan Toy never made enough sales to trigger the provisions which would prevent Automoblox from selling directly.
Automoblox countersued Manhattan Toy for allegedly overstating its revenue by $50 million in negotiations, falling short of sales goals, and diminishing the brand's pricing by selling to discount retailers and promoting mini models more heavily than the full sized versions, in violation of the agreement.
Manhattan Toy maintains that it complied with the agreement and never mislead Automoblox.
An arbitration hearing has been scheduled for March. Manhattan Toy had asked for an expedited review to get it decided before Toy Fair; the request was denied.
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