Class 46 had previously reported that Neumünster zoo had sued Berlin zoo - where Knut was born and still lives - for a share of the royalties earned through licensing the "Knut polar bear brand" (see Class 46 post here). Knut's father, polar bear Lars is owned by the Neumünster zoo and both zoos appear to have an agreement which grants Neumünster zoo a certain share of the Knut profits.

The BBC now reports that the zoos have settled the matter amicably. Berlin Zoo has reportedly agreed to pay €430,000 to Neumünster zoo in order to keep Knut in the German capital. Berlin Zoo had initially only offered Neumünster Euro 350,000 ("and not a cent more") while Neumünster zoo had asked for €700,000. By way of background information: in 2007 alone Knut earned more than €5m for Berlin Zoo, from ticket sales and from Knut merchandise.

This settlement comes just days before a deadline set by the Berlin Regional court: if the two zoos had not agreed on a sale price by 13 July 2009, the Berlin Regional court would have handed down a decision in this matter on 1 September 2009. The presiding judge, Philip Hegermann, had already indicated that the case would most likely have been decided in favour of the Berlin zoo.

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