Jeff Anderson, Director of Valuation and Analytics, proved that Gawker benefited from posting the Hulk Hogan sex tape, during the Florida civil jury trial in March, 2016. The jury eventually awarded CONSOR’s client Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan) $115 million in compensatory damages, and $25 million in punitive damages, for a total of $140 million.
On October 4, 2012, Gawker posted a one minute and forty-one second video depicting Terry Bollea, professionally known as Hulk Hogan, engaged in private consensual sexual relations. Despite demands from Bollea’s attorney that the sex tape be removed, Gawker refused. Thus, Gawker benefitted from the use of the Hulk Hogan brand and other intellectual property.
In March 2016, more than three years later, the trial of Terry Bollea v. Gawker commenced in Florida, with Bollea seeking monetary relief. CONSOR was retained by Bollea’s legal team to provide expert consulting services. Jeff Anderson, CONSOR Director of Valuation and Analytics, took the stand and testified in front of the jury.
By generating significant traffic to their website, Gawker benefited by posting the sex tape. As IP valuation experts, CONSOR was asked to provide an opinion and quantify the benefit to Gawker, as measured by the increase in value of the website that resulted from Gawker posting the sex tape.
Gawker’s website increased in value by approximately $15 million from publishing the Hulk Hogan sex tape. The valuation is based on proven techniques and sound analytics, which the CONSOR team brings to every project – from Right of Publicity to complex patent portfolios.
CONSOR has been successful in more than 90% of the cases in which they are the testifying expert. CONSOR Intellectual Asset Management was founded over 25 years ago, and has been a global industry leader in intellectual property valuation, expert witness services, monetization assistance, licensing strategies and more. If you would like to schedule a meeting to discuss the IP valuation services, litigation services, or CLE presentations that CONSOR can provide, contact Weston Anson, [email protected].