Franchise Pictures has won acourt victory against Germany's Intertainment Licensing GmbH, asubsidiary of the publicly traded Intertainment AG. The two companies have beenembroiled in legal battle for over a year now regarding the terms of an outputdeal Franchise had sealed with Intertainment in 2000.

Yesterday's judgmentsees Intertainment liable for $6.5m for failing to make payment on delivery ofthe 2001 film Caveman's Valentine starring Samuel L Jackson. Franchise has claimed the Germany companydefaulted on its obligations to various films including Caveman'sValentine.

The judge's ruling wasa confirmation of an arbitration award against Intertainment on Dec 11, 2001,which ruled that the picture had been delivered in accordance with the licenseagreement,

Franchise chief Elie Samahawas jubilant in a statement: "We are vindicated by the conclusionsreached by both the arbitrator and the judge," he said.