In July, Viacom officially cut ties with Nick Cannon after the Wild N Out host and creator made anti-Semitic comments. But Cannon is not going without attempting to take with him his creation, setting the price at $1.5 billion.
Cannon’s team put out a statement, saying, “It is just that simple, Wild’N Out belongs to Nick! The show was created by Nick Cannon with his idea and original thought. Wild’N Out has brought billions of dollars in revenue to Viacom since 2015. And Nick deserves and has earned everything it is worth.”
This legal battle will be one to watch. The contract signed by each party will govern the rights, i.e who owns the intellectual property. Often time, a sophisticated media entity, such as Viacom, will contract with a producer to own the rights so as to avoid situations like this suit. However, because attorney’s legally cannot bring a frivolous claim before the court, Cannon’s legal team must have some legal ground to stand on. A rep for Cannon posed that “If Viacom believes in growth, equality, education, then Viacom will do what is right and pay Nick what they owe, and giving him his $1.5 brand.”
