Lionsgate‘s deal with American Greetings Corp for home entertainment rights to Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake properties comes after not-so-cuddly rights litigation between American Greetings and Cookie Jar Entertainment, which tried to purchase the former in 2008 and kept the iconic kids brands in limbo. Cookie Jar was acquired in August by fellow Canadian media company DHX Media, which said at the time that the legal spats had been ironed out, with American Greetings holding underlying rights to the properties. From today’s release:
Santa Monica, CA — January 9, 2013 — Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a leading global diversified entertainment company, and American Greetings Properties (AGP), the intellectual property and outbound licensing division of American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM), today announced a home entertainment distribution agreement for the new CGI Animated TV series “Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot.” The agreement gives Lionsgate packaged and digital rights in both the U.S. and UK to all 26 episodes of the series, which debuted on The Hub in 2012. In addition, the two companies are extending their existing contract, with Lionsgate retaining its rights to the two previous Care Bears television series and five Care Bears movies. Under the new agreement, Lionsgate will also distribute three additional American Greetings properties in the U.S. through packaged and digital media. The three series—the WETA produced show “The WotWots,” “The Twisted Whiskers Show” and “Maryoku Yummy”. Finally, Lionsgate will acquire U.S. digital rights to three seasons of the classic Strawberry Shortcake series.
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