Edit... aha...found the court case...
"In 2000, Big West and Studio Nue took Tatsunoko Productions to the Tokyo District Court over who had the rights to the first Macross series, due to Harmony Gold's attempt to bar Japanese Macross merchandise in North America the previous year. During production, Big West entered into a partnership with Tatsunoko to assist in the production of the series in a deal where it acquired the license to distribute the show worldwide (i.e., outside Japan), as well as earning some royalties to the merchandise. Tatsunoko then sub-licensed Macross to Harmony Gold USA in 1984. In 2002, the Tokyo District Court ruled that Big West/Studio Nue is the sole owner of the original character and mecha designs for the first series,[16] while that same court ruled in 2003 that Tatsunoko owned the production rights to the first series."
Ergo... Harmony doesn't own the mecha art/designs of Macross as they couldn't very well own the copyright to something that the company they purchased their license from didn't own it themselves.
Edited by Dee Eight, 17 April 2016 - 08:49 PM.