Hard Rock / Freestyle Music Park Discussion Thread

[spaceace12]

LOL

 

 

Some original founders of Hard Rock Park said Thursday they still have intellectual property rights over the park's overall concept and want an annual $500,000 licensing fee and royalties from the park's new owners, who bought the park out of bankruptcy last month, according to court documents.

 

FPI MB Entertainment, the group that purchased the park for $25 million, said the compensation request not only threatens the reopening of the park, planned to be by Memorial Day, but the attraction's entire existence.

 

At issue is whether the rights to the layout, design and theme of some of the park's attractions and the park itself were transferred with the park's assets to the new owners by the federal bankruptcy court in Delaware.

 

* External Link Full coverage of Hard Rock Park

 

Ultimately, that will be up to a judge to decide. A hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. today.

 

``It certainly is possible to separate intellectual property from the physical assets . . . that were sold,'' said Richard Stolker, a bankruptcy lawyer at Uptown Law in Rockville, Md. ``Now whether that was done or not, you'd have to look at the documents that were filed.''

 

The new owners say the sale of the park was approved by the bankruptcy court ``free and clear of all encumbrances,'' indicating the intellectual property rights were transferred to them. They say the founders also have no more rights over the park because they failed to object to the original sale order.

 

The founders say the park's intellectual property did not belong to HRP Myrtle Beach Operations, one of the corporations that filed for bankruptcy, and thus could not have been transferred. Instead, they say the rights belong to HRP Creative Services Co., a separate corporation set up by the founders and one that never filed for bankruptcy.

 

HRP Creative Services was incorporated in Florida. According to the Web site of that state's Division of Corporations, the park's founders _ Jon Binkowski, Felix Mussenden and Steven Goodwin _ are partners in the corporation. Goodwin served as CEO of the park.

 

In an e-mail to the park's new owners that was included in the court documents, Goodwin asks for the licensing fee and for 1.5 percent of gross revenues over $50 million. Goodwin says that is a ``fair offer'' for such a ``magnificent park.''

 

``I find it inconceivable that you can consider opening the park in 2009 without securing an agreement with us to utilize our intellectual property, as the cost and time to strip out our creative content from the park would seem to rule out such a course of action,'' Goodwin wrote on March 1 to FPI MBE.

 

HRP Myrtle Beach Operations gave HRP Creative Services similar compensation for the intellectual property rights, according to court documents, though Goodwin headed both corporations and signed for both of them in the agreement between the two, which was finalized in 2006.

 

In their court filing, the founders say even changing the names of the rides would violate their rights if no licensing fee were paid.

 

Dennis Drebsky, an attorney representing HRP Creative Services, said Goodwin was not trying to hinder the opening of the park.

 

``From the point of view of Steve, he'd like the park to go on and be a success,'' Drebsky said. ``That's not what we're trying to do. He's just trying to get fair compensation for what his corporation owns.''

 

The motion filed by FPI MBE says that Goodwin is ``trying to shamefully unravel all that has been accomplished after laying behind the log'' when the court originally approved the sale of the park.

 

``Erstwhile silent, Goodwin now belatedly claims that he and his ill-conceived company . . . actually still own the park's basic DNA or alleged underlying intellectual property,'' the new owners' motion says. ``Not just on some discrete level, but in a most integral, wide-ranging and all-inclusive manner.''

 

FPI MBE is asking the bankruptcy court to affirm that the founders waived their intellectual property rights by not objecting to the sale order, that FPI MBE purchased all of HRP Creative Services' rights with the sale and for protection against future litigation.

 

Representatives for the park's buyers could not be reached Thursday.

 

Stevan Lieberman, a principal at Greenberg & Lieberman, an intellectual property law firm in Washington, D.C., said it is not uncommon for businesses to set up a separate corporation to hold their intellectual property rights. In some circumstances, though, doing so could be illegal.

 

``There are rules that say you can't transfer something knowing that there are debts that have to be dealt with,'' he said. ``That would be called a fraudulent transfer.''

 

The $400 million park opened in April and closed in bankruptcy in September after a lackluster first season. Two of the original investors in the park have also given financial backing to FPI MBE, including Tim Duncan, who also served on the park's board of directors.

 

According to court documents, Duncan will testify today that Goodwin did not seek board approval before transferring the intellectual rights to HRP Creative Services and that the bankrupt corporations, not HRP Creative Services, paid for the filing fees for the park's trademark registrations.

 

The original owners of the park licensed the Hard Rock brand from Hard Rock International for $2.5 million a year and are not claiming any rights over the Hard Rock Park name. The new owners are still negotiating with Hard Rock International over whether the name can be kept this year.

 

http://www.thesunnews.com/news/local/story/836847.html

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Im not surprised about this at all. I hope FPI wins this thing and gets the park open so they can make some money this season.

[gisco]

Wow, Goodwin is an ass. First he drives a theme park into the ground costing people $400 million and now he wants $500,000 a year because he thinks he still owns the intellectual property rights and should be fairly compensated?

[BeemerBoy]

In an e-mail to the park's new owners that was included in the court documents, Goodwin asks for the licensing fee and for 1.5 percent of gross revenues over $50 million. Goodwin says that is a ``fair offer'' for such a ``magnificent park.''

 

Hehe.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

^I think he is on drugs...obviously. I mean, look at the "magnificent park" he made, haha.

[ginzo]

What a parasite. And it sounds like he's too stupid to understand that he might be shining light on his own shadiness (illegal transfer) that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.

 

This HRP saga is like herpes, the gift that keeps on giving again and again.

[cfc]

This brings to mind the theme song from an Saturday-morning game show that used to run when I was a kid: "Shenanigans/Come on along and play/Shenanigans!"

[mcjaco]

This HRP saga is like herpes, the gift that keeps on giving again and again.

 

Ew. A park that gives you open festering sores?

[Not For Sale]

This HRP saga is like herpes, the gift that keeps on giving again and again.

 

Ew. A park that gives you open festering sores?

Oh, I didn't realize you've been there!

[cfc]

^Hey, social diseases are an important part of rock 'n' roll. Don't forget your official "Tonight's the Night" brand prophylactics--the kind Rod Stewart likes!

[ginzo]

Ew. A park that gives you open festering sores?

 

Well, I wouldn't know much about that.

 

I was referring to how the nonsense with this park keeps resurfacing like an unwanted sore. Just when it seemed that HRP was turning a new leaf under the new ownership, the previous management clowns come back for an encore performance.

[CHILLERLC1]

Time is ticking away and there's this dumb distraction. I already want to plan my June vacation. It should be about getting the park ready for me and the GP. The naming rights and other issues should be the focus.

[spaceace12]

BREAKING NEWS

 

Judge rules in favor of previous owners

 

A federal bankruptcy judge ruled today that some of Hard Rock Park's intellectual property rights still belong to the park's previous owners, who are asking the park's new owners for royalties and a licensing fee, according to attorneys involved in the case.

 

The $400 million park, which opened in April and closed in bankruptcy in September, was purchased in February by FPI MB Entertainment for $25 million. But Steven Goodwin, the park's former CEO, says the park's overall theme still belongs to a corporation he heads.

 

FPI MBE has asked Judge Kevin J. Carey to affirm that the park's intellectual property rights had been transferred to them when the court approved the sale of the park to FPI MBE in February. It also asked for protection from future lawsuits regarding the transfer of the intellectual property rights and said that Goodwin waived his rights to the park by not objecting to the sale order in a timely fashion.

 

Carey denied the request.

 

In court filings, FPI MBE said the royalty request jeopardized the park's planned Memorial Day opening. An attorney for FPI MBE, though, said the park will still open on time despite the judge's ruling.

 

Carey read the order during a telephone conference call this afternoon, attorneys said. Joseph Gitto, an attorney for Goodwin's corporation, said the ruling indicated that all the park's intellectual property rights were not transferred to FPI MBE along with the park's physical assets.

 

"Steven put a lot of work into this park as well," Gitto said. "No one's looking to keep this park closed. It's just a matter of working together among the parties to get it opened."

 

Goodwin was asking for an annual $500,000 licensing fee and 1.5 percent of gross revenues over $50 million.

 

Skip Scott, an attorney for FPI MBE, said the company will make the appropriate changes to the park, such as altering the names of rides and restaurants, to avoid infringing on any of Goodwin's intellectual property rights. But he said it is unlikely that FPI MBE will pay Goodwin any royalties.

 

FPI MBE said that at best, Goodwin's corporation might own the names of some of the rides.

 

"Many of the names for the rides and attractions and restaurants would have changed over time in any event, now it's a little bit more of a hurry-up fashion," Scott said. "The park did not get rave reviews for its creative content previously, and there is a concerted effort to change that in any event."

 

Scott said further legal action could occur in the future.

 

In court filings, Goodwin maintained that the intellectual rights to the park's overall theme, design and layout belonged to HRP Creative Services Co. He said he transferred the park's intellectual property rights to that corporation from HRP Myrtle Beach Operations, one of the corporations that filed for bankrupcty, in 2006.

 

Two of the park's original founders, Felix Mussenden and Jon Binkowski, are also partners in HRP Creative Services.

 

The previous owners leased the Hard Rock Park name from Hard Rock International last year for $2.5 million and are not claiming any rights to the actual name. The new owners are still discussing with Hard Rock International over whether the name can be kept for this year.

 

http://thesunnews.typepad.com/tourism/2009/03/lawyers-judge-rules-that-previous-owners-have-rights-to-hard-rock-parks-theme.html

 

How much you wanna bet this busts the park.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Grrrrrrrr

[SharkTums]

LOL This was the best part of the article:

 

"Many of the names for the rides and attractions and restaurants would have changed over time in any event, now it's a little bit more of a hurry-up fashion," Scott said. "The park did not get rave reviews for its creative content previously, and there is a concerted effort to change that in any event."

 

 

That's what we said!!! But all of the articles were always so glowing! Glad to see someone realizes that the park was not as amazing as originally thought!

[darklingscribe]

I've always thought it was too bad that HRP was poorly designed and managed in the first place because the idea of themeing a park to Rock & Roll is an intriguing one.

[coasterdude5]

LOL This was the best part of the article:

 

"Many of the names for the rides and attractions and restaurants would have changed over time in any event, now it's a little bit more of a hurry-up fashion," Scott said. "The park did not get rave reviews for its creative content previously, and there is a concerted effort to change that in any event."

 

 

That's what we said!!! But all of the articles were always so glowing! Glad to see someone realizes that the park was not as amazing as originally thought!

I laughed out loud a bit, that was a good diss!

[CHILLERLC1]

I'm steamed with Mr. Goodwin. Maybe I'll go back to my first vacation choice: Ohio-Indiana.

[Mechanic]

I know how to GUARANTEE success for the park. Just rename it "KILL ALL LAWYERS PARK". No offense to any lawyers out there, but man... When does common sense ever enter into the legal equation? The only fitting end to this particular legal issue would be for the judge to rule that while Goodwin's corporation does own the intellectual property, that said property is worthless, as evidenced by the crash-and-burn failure of the park. Slam the gavel and declare, "Judgement in favor of Mr Goodwin's corporation in the amount of $0.00, reflecting the value of the intellectual property."

 

...Then Doug Lewellen interviews the parties outside the chambers.

 

Roll credits.

[slicknixon]

When i heard that the new owner wasn't going to keep Nights in White Satin i couldn't believe it! I mean sure, the adult theme of the park may have had something to do with the failure, but all they'd have to do is call it Nights in White Satin instead of Nights in White Satin: The Trip and have the ride ops say enjoy your ride instead of enjoy your trip and the theme would be nothing more than a representation of psychedelic rock. Come to think of it, Led Zep and Moody Blues were the only hope the park had.

 

I dunno, i don't think this season will be much better no matter how much advertising is used. Myrtle Beach killed the Pavilion and it is turning into nothing more than a place for those dreaded bike weeks. What happened to the Myrtle Beach i once knew? The family beach resort that seemed to have been meant for great seaside parks is nothing more than a party town for dirty bikers and riff-raff. It has been this way for years now and will probably never change back. Too bad Goodwin didn't consider how much the town has changed for the worse since the fall of the pavilion.

 

I think it is safe to say that HRP is most epic FAIL in the history of modern theme parks, even as sad as it is. The new owners should prepare for another season of disappointment.

[CHILLERLC1]

Can they keep the "Eat Me" sign on the one eatery? They should call the restaurant Goodwin's and slap a sign under that one. Perhaps they get a Goodwin's Grease Truck for the crap he's serving?

 

NEWSFLASH: I read on another forum the website hardrockpark.com is offline. I tested and it's true.

 

 

http://www.hrpusa.com/index.php I found that site for Goodwin in looking up HRP's site after it went down.

[cycamps]

It doesn't really matter to me what the park is called. I'd just like to visit it before it closes again...

[CHILLERLC1]

hardrockpark.com is back up, finally updated in 2009 tonight 3/31/09. It just has a basic: Check back for updates status. No rides, maps, info just yet. The most promising thing is an upright link to Hard Rock Cafe's site.

[coasterdude5]

^ I noticed that too. Maybe that's a sign, maybe it's leftover, who knows.

[CHILLERLC1]

Can Six Flags or Cedar Fair claim intellectual property rights on Geauga Lake's old floating bridge and sue Goodwin for using the idea in his former park?