By Jason Powell
Billy Cogan’s attempt to purchase the NWA brand has yet to be finalized. In fact, a source with knowledge of the situation described the deal as being “inches away from falling apart.” One of the major holdups is that current NWA owner and president Bruce Tharpe allowed the NWA merchandising trademark to expire on December 2, 2016.
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Tharpe reapplied for the trademark on March 30, 2017, which is said to be roughly a few weeks after he began negotiating with Corgan. The trademark is listed as live at this point by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. However, a source says that while the trademark is listed as live, it actually requires further review. Corgan declined to discuss the matter, and attempts to reach Tharpe before this story was published were unsuccessful.
Powell’s POV: It’s amazing that this deal hasn’t been made yet given that the negotiations started back in early March and was thought to be essentially a done deal on May 1. It’s worth noting that the deal has come close to falling through in the past, so it’s certainly possible that the two sides will still be able resolve this and finally put pen to paper. This would seem to be Tharpe’s best chance to make a deal given that there would not seem to be many interested parties due to the current state of the brand.
You might want to listen to Cornette’s latest podcast with Howard Brody. Brody claims that he signed a deal with WWF to get NWA on WWF TV back in 98 that gave Vince the right to use the belt and logo etc. in advertising. Brody also says that he thinks that’s still in effect.