WNED's complaint is the latest development in the ongoing dispute emanating from a 2011 licensing deal between WNED and RRKidz regarding the long-running, Burton-hosted PBS series, Reading Rainbow. WNED retained the right to develop a new Reading Rainbow series. WNED alleges that RRKidz breached the agreement in 2015 when it posted Reading Rainbow content that exceeded the fifteen-minute content maximum permitted under the agreement. The WNED complaint also alleges that Burton and RRKidz improperly exercised control over the Reading Rainbow series by publicly stating that it owned Reading Rainbow, negotiating with Netflix for a new Reading Rainbow series behind WNED's back, misappropriating the Reading Rainbow website by directing web traffic here, by renaming the Reading Rainbow Skybrary app as LeVar Burton Kids Skybrary on iTunes and, and by using the catch phrase, "I'll see you next time, but you don't have to take my word for it" and the slogan Reading Rainbow for adults regularly in Mr. Burton's podcast. Also to be determined is whether WNED has to swallow the $2.5 million poison pill held by Raymonds Capital.

Source: Forbes August 10, 2017 00:22 UTC