Blockbuster Inc. and its Canadian unit will seek mediation to resolve issues such as whether the company in Canada can use the retailer’s trademark, which is claimed by Dish Network Corp., the Douglas County-based buyer of Blockbuster Inc.’s U.S. assets.
Blockbuster lawyers said Thursday at a hearing in Manhattan that the mediator also would hear the Canadian company’s request for protection from U.S. creditors. Under Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, foreign companies can block lawsuits by U.S creditors while they reorganize in another court.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lif land adjourned the hearing until July 14. The announcement of the mediator was made after almost two hours of private talks among the lawyers and the judge. Lifland said there were “attempts to resolve the issues” during the talks in chambers.
Blockbuster Inc., once the largest video-rental chain, won U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval in April to sell its assets to Dish for $320 million. Dish is the second-largest U.S. satellite- television provider, after DirecTV.
Blockbuster Canada was granted an extension Thursday of its right to use the retailer’s trademark until July 14. It was scheduled to expire June 30.
Dish’s threat to end Blockbuster Canada’s use of the Blockbuster logo is part of a strategy to acquire the Canadian unit’s assets, Blockbuster Canada said in court papers June 6.
