Samuel Goldwyn Jr. has settled his lawsuit with Metro Goldwyn Mayer and Metromedia Intl. Group. As part of the agreement, MGM’s specialty film unit will no longer be known as Goldwyn Films, and the new name is G2 Films.
Goldwyn said, “It’s nice to win, and it’s nice to win when justice is done without having to go through two years of court battles.”
Goldwyn had been seeking more than $6 million in salary and damages stemming from his departure from the company. Metromedia had sold the Samuel Goldwyn Co. to MGM in 1997.
Though neither side would disclose what Goldwyn had received, an MGM spokesman said “there was some monetary settlement.”
Goldwyn had alleged trademark infringement and unfair competition in connection with MGM’s newly created specialized film subsidiary, Goldwyn Films. In the suit he accused MGM of “palming off specialized films produced or acquired by” the new division as pictures with the Samuel Goldwyn name.
Ironically, Goldwyn’s father had fought a similar battle with MGM when he left the company in the 1920s. At the time, Leo sought to prevent him from using the Goldwyn name. “And it’s a made-up name,” said Goldwyn Jr. “His name was Goldfish and he took part of someone else’s name and made it Goldwyn.”