Lonnie Johnson, founder of the Atlanta-based company Johnson Research and Development Co., has been awarded almost $73 million in royalties from Hasbro, Inc., the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, settling a long royalties dispute with toy-making giant.
Suggested Reading
“In the arbitration we got everything we asked for,” attorney Leigh Baier told the Journal-Constitution. “The arbitrator ruled totally in Lonnie’s favor.” Johnson is reportedly “very pleased.”
Johnson’s company, which is the mastermind behind the Super Soaker water gun and Nerf toy guns, claimed that Hasbro had been underpaying royalties for the Nerf toys from 2007 to 2012. There was also another suit filed in which Johnson claimed that the toymaker violated a 1996 agreement to pay him royalties for products based on the Super Soaker. In 2001, Hasbro also agreed to pay royalties for products covered by Johnson’s Nerf line, the news site notes.
Johnson, a successful nuclear engineer, holds more than 80 patents, with at least another 20 pending, the Journal-Constitution reports. He has worked for NASA and the Air Force.
Read more at the Atlanta Constitution-Journal.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.