USTA takes sponsor to court 24/11/2010 |
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The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is taking legal action against Olympus, which sponsors the US Open Series, claiming the company has backed out of its sponsorship agreement a year early due to category conflicts with Panasonic.
The USTA says Olympus is trying to pull the plug on its deal for the 2011 US Open Series to save $11.7m, reports Courthousenews.com.
The governing body claims Olympus manufactured a dispute with Panasonic to breach Olympus' exclusive contract for camera products. The USTA believes the issue stems from its collaboration this year with CBS, DirecTV and Panasonic to film and broadcast US Open matches in 3D.
Olympus apparently complained that a Panasonic executive made comments about its products’ 3D capabilities that crossed the line.
"Because Panasonic is expressly identified in the Olympus agreement as not being a 'competitive company' with regard to Olympus and because the scope of the two sponsorship agreements are markedly different, there is no conflict between the two sponsorships," the USTA complaint reads.
Olympus has reportedly pulled of its USTA contract, which runs until 2013, although it has the option to terminate the deal after 2011.
In 15 years of partnership agreements, the USTA says, it has never had a legal dispute that culminated in litigation. Olympus has been a sponsor since 2003.
The USTA is seeking $11.65m for breach of contract, and a declaratory judgment that it did not violate Olympus' exclusive sponsorship rights.
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