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Reznor v Malm
In 2004, Reznor's former manager John Malm Jr. filed suit in the United States district court of Ohio against Reznor for over $2 million in deferred commissions. The suit alleged that Reznor "reneged on every single contract he and Malm ever entered into", and that Reznor refused to pay Malm payments which he was contractually entitled to. Weeks later, Reznor filed a counter-suit in the U.S. District Court of New York, charging Malm with fraud and breach of fiduciary duties. Reznor's suit arose from a five-year management contract signed in the earliest days of Nine Inch Nails, between Reznor and Malm's management company J. Artist Management. This contract, according to the suit, was unlawful and immoral in that it secured Malm 20% of Reznor's gross earnings, rather than his net earnings, as is the standard practice between artists and their management. The suit also alleged that the contract secured this percentage even if Malm was no longer representing Reznor, and for all Reznor's album advances. The suit also described how Malm had misappropriated the ownership rights regarding Nine Inch Nails, including the trademark name "NIN". According to testimony by Malm, Reznor gave him half of the "NIN" trademark "as a gift."

Reznor stated that he began to fully understand his financial situation after tackling his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Reznor requested a financial statement from Malm in 2003, only to discover that he had only $400,000 in liquid assets. "It was not pleasant discovering you have a 10th as much as you've been told you have," Reznor told the court. Malm's lawyers, however, claimed that Malm had worked for years "pro bono", and that Reznor's inability to release an album or tour and his uninhibited spending were the reasons for Reznor financial situation.

After a three week trial in 2005, jurors sided with Reznor, awarding him upwards of $2.95 million and returning complete control of his trademarks to Reznor. After adjustment for inflation, Reznor's award rose to nearly $5 million.

Trent Reznor, John Malm Jr., Nothing Records


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 * Reznor v. J. Artist Mgmt., 365 F. Supp. 2d 565
 * Court of Appeals of Ohio document
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 * Reznor v. J. Artist Mgmt., 365 F. Supp. 2d 565
 * Court of Appeals of Ohio document
 * link
 * Reznor v. J. Artist Mgmt., 365 F. Supp. 2d 565
 * Court of Appeals of Ohio document
 * link
 * Reznor v. J. Artist Mgmt., 365 F. Supp. 2d 565
 * Court of Appeals of Ohio document
 * Reznor v. J. Artist Mgmt., 365 F. Supp. 2d 565
 * Court of Appeals of Ohio document

With Teeth 

Pretty Hate Machine

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