Prince Phillip is to take on wrestling superstars like The Rock in a bitter bout over rights to the initials WWF. Phillip heads he World Wildlife Fund animal protection group, which claims the World Wrestling Federation has broken a promise to not cash in by using the initials. The two organisations drew up a secret pact six years ago restricting the use of the three letters. Now furious bosses of the Fund are launching a court action against the grappling chiefs, claiming they have gone back on their word by increasingly including the WWF logo when marketing their stagemanaged sport. Fund sources claim that repeated pleas to the US based Federation to avoid using WWF on TV, magazines and the Internet have been ignored. The emblems of both organisations are known throughout the world. The wildlife group's features a panda, whereas the wrestlers' have WWF displayed on a shiny metal-style surface. But it is the latter which has been getting more and more publicity thanks to the explosion of interest in wrestlers such as The Rock, The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
A Fund spokesman said: "We are the aggrieved party because of the way the WWF brand has been misused. The important thing for us is that we have a valuable and world-recognisable trademark and brand name that we do not want associated with violence and low-end marketing." Prince Phillip has been associated with the wildlife fund for almost 40 years.
The World Wrestling Federation, based in Stamford, Connecticut, is a multi-billion dollar entertainment organisation. Federation spokesman Jim Byrne said yesterday: "We don't think it is wise to comment on pending litigation."
Updates as I get them..
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