1809 replies to this topic

[Variant1]

Why do they even name themselves harmony gold? they should call themselves Harmful Goons

[Valdarion Silarius]

Chados, on 18 April 2018 - 11:17 AM, said:

Has HG, with Tatsunoko’s help, demonstrated enough of a factual dispute to bypass summary judgment and get to the trial calendar?

They probably will not. I think you have forgotten that again, Tatsunoko doesn't own the 41 characters that Harmony Gold is trying to claim here. Harmony Gold even tried to claim that PGI were descendants of FASA which is absolutely false. I think a settlement is out of the question this time around because I think all of us, PGI included, will know that they if they don't stick this out HG is going to be back to their own schemes if Tatsunoko grants them another license renewal. Yet again, it was ruled out over in the japanese courts that it was Big West that owns the copyrighted material of Macross.

Edited by Arnold The Governator, 18 April 2018 - 01:15 PM.

[DFM]

Just another reason i'll buy a mech pack with my disposable income.

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to think i'm chipping in against HG.

[Chados]

Isn’t that the point, though? Tatsunoko doesn’t claim *outright* ownership. Everyone agrees that it is Big West and/or Studio Nue that own the 41 characters. Tatsunoko claims that they own the *international rights*, all of them, to the 41 characters, and that they licensed those to Harmony Gold. That’s why HG wants the letter rogatory from the Japanese court. They claim that if they can force Big West to divulge documents, they can prove Tatsunoko’s ownership of the international rights and thus their right via the license.

PGI’s position is that obtaining documents from Big West won’t change anything because Tatsunoko’s rights do not include the right to allow or control derivative works. And whether Tatsunoko does or does not have the right to control derivative works is a dispute of fact, which is not susceptible to summary adjudication-that’s a matter for a jury.

[Dimento Graven]

Chados, on 18 April 2018 - 01:52 PM, said:

Isn’t that the point, though? Tatsunoko doesn’t claim *outright* ownership. Everyone agrees that it is Big West and/or Studio Nue that own the 41 characters. Tatsunoko claims that they own the *international rights*, all of them, to the 41 characters, and that they licensed those to Harmony Gold. That’s why HG wants the letter rogatory from the Japanese court. They claim that if they can force Big West to divulge documents, they can prove Tatsunoko’s ownership of the international rights and thus their right via the license.

PGI’s position is that obtaining documents from Big West won’t change anything because Tatsunoko’s rights do not include the right to allow or control derivative works. And whether Tatsunoko does or does not have the right to control derivative works is a dispute of fact, which is not susceptible to summary adjudication-that’s a matter for a jury.

That's the thing though, as I understood it HG was requesting the 'unspecified documents' via letter rogatory because SUPPOSEDLY Tatsunoko wouldn't provide the agreement due to... trade secrets... or some such non-sense.

That right there smells a heap like BS.

Secondly PGI's point that HG SHOULD have been asking for this document pretty much AT THE SAME TIME they opened up the suit to have it on hand to prove their case. The fact that they wait approximately a year to file the letter rogatory smells of delaying tactic, if you're not really sure it exists (or if you're pretty sure it doesn't) then you delay requesting so that you can stretch out the suit and attempt to deplete the opposing litigant's financial warchest.

It's frightening our court system has to allow obvious ******** go on like this.

HOW IN THE F*** ARE OUR PRISONS SO FULL!?!?!

Oh wait, that's right, lawyers are expensive and the free ones aren't always that great, so our prisons are mostly filled with the poor... Silly me...

[The Lighthouse]

Pretty much the major reason everyone should buy mechpacks is to fund this ridiculous lawsuit.

[Valdarion Silarius]

Chados, on 18 April 2018 - 01:52 PM, said:

Isn’t that the point, though? Tatsunoko doesn’t claim *outright* ownership. Everyone agrees that it is Big West and/or Studio Nue that own the 41 characters. Tatsunoko claims that they own the *international rights*, all of them, to the 41 characters, and that they licensed those to Harmony Gold. That’s why HG wants the letter rogatory from the Japanese court. They claim that if they can force Big West to divulge documents, they can prove Tatsunoko’s ownership of the international rights and thus their right via the license.

PGI’s position is that obtaining documents from Big West won’t change anything because Tatsunoko’s rights do not include the right to allow or control derivative works. And whether Tatsunoko does or does not have the right to control derivative works is a dispute of fact, which is not susceptible to summary adjudication-that’s a matter for a jury.

It's up to the Japanese courts if they want to listen to Harmony Gold's request. They can simply deny their request because they don't have to abide to international rulings from what I understand. I think it goes with the same line that PGI didn't have to listen to Harmony Gold's lawsuit claim if they did business outside of the United States. Since I think that probably PGI's biggest customer fan base is from the US, they are doing everyone in the world a favor by proving that HG has no proof to what they are trying to claim (the 41 mech characters). Harmony Gold has yet to prove to the court system that they have a standing case to begin with.

[Alan Davion]

Arnold The Governator, on 18 April 2018 - 04:10 PM, said:

Harmony Gold has yet to prove to the court system that they have a standing case to begin with.

Cause until now no one has ever actually had the balls to actually take HG to task over this whole debacle, cause HG always won by dint of their having more cash to throw down the crapper than their opponents.

Arnold The Governator, on 18 April 2018 - 04:10 PM, said:

the 41 mech characters

Actually the 41 "characters" include not only the mecha, but the humans and zentradi also.

[Valdarion Silarius]

Alan Davion, on 18 April 2018 - 04:21 PM, said:

Actually the 41 "characters" include not only the mecha, but the humans and zentradi also.

Thanks for the correction. I wasn't sure if it was 41 mechs altogether.

[Catsgomeeeow]

Harmony Gold i.p trolls, disgusting lazy greedy nothings, hopefully all their actions will turn around and bite them on the arse at some point in the future.

[CMDR Sunset Shimmer]

Dimento Graven, on 18 April 2018 - 02:17 PM, said:

HOW IN THE F*** ARE OUR PRISONS SO FULL!?!?!

Low level crimes such as possession of a controlled substance [pot] which comes with a:
What Amount of Marijuana Do I Have to Carry to Violate Federal Law?
[color=#232222]
While federal authorities typically focus on high volume distributors, there are sentencing guidelines for possessing even the smallest amounts of marijuana. They include:[/color]

• First offense: a misdemeanor involving up to a year of incarceration and a $1,000 fine,
  
• Second offense: a misdemeanor involving a mandatory minimum of 15 days (and up to two years) of incarceration and a $2,500 fine, and
  
• Third offense or more: a misdemeanor or felony involving a mandatory minimum of 90 days (and up to three years) of incarceration and a $5,000 fine.

that's just for carrying even the smallest amount, you growing?:

What about Selling and Growing Marijuana?
[color=#232222]
If you are convicted of selling or cultivating significant amounts of marijuana, you will face strict federal penalties. (The gifting of small amounts of marijuana is treated as possession under federal law.) Federal sentences vary, depending on the scope of your production. They include:[/color]

• Less than 50 plants or 50 kg: felony involving up to five years of incarceration and a $250,000 fine,
  
• 50-99 plants or kilograms: felony involving up to 20 years of incarceration and a $1,000,000 fine,
  
• 100-999 plants or kilograms: felony involving 5-40 years of incarceration and a $500,000 fine, and
  
• 1,000 or more plants or kilograms: felony involving between 10 years to life and a $1,000,000 fine.

And that's at the federal level, doesn't matter if your state has it legal for recreation or not. If the ATF find out, they can throw you to the federal wolves...

THAT, is how the prisons are so full.

Oh and for a fun little aside to that... Sexual Assault via use of drug to render a person unable to give consent, carries a 0-15 year penalty at the federal level.

[evilauthor]

So here's a thought I just had. Is there ANYONE ELSE waiting to jump Harmony Gold if/when HG loses this suit?

I mean, is there anyone waiting to sue Harmony Gold because of the IP trolling HG has been doing over the years and just need legal proof that HG doesn't own Macross or the Macross mecha to do it?

[CMDR Sunset Shimmer]

evilauthor, on 19 April 2018 - 07:23 AM, said:

So here's a thought I just had. Is there ANYONE ELSE waiting to jump Harmony Gold if/when HG loses this suit?

I mean, is there anyone waiting to sue Harmony Gold because of the IP trolling HG has been doing over the years and just need legal proof that HG doesn't own Macross or the Macross mecha to do it?

not that we're aware of Sadly... though the argument COULD be made that Catalyst, or even Jordan could counter sue for prior attacks on them from the old Battletech cases.

[Metus regem]

evilauthor, on 19 April 2018 - 07:23 AM, said:

So here's a thought I just had. Is there ANYONE ELSE waiting to jump Harmony Gold if/when HG loses this suit?

I mean, is there anyone waiting to sue Harmony Gold because of the IP trolling HG has been doing over the years and just need legal proof that HG doesn't own Macross or the Macross mecha to do it?

If they lose, I imagine Big West will be doing a happy dance to export Macross to the West finally...

[Horseman]

evilauthor, on 19 April 2018 - 07:23 AM, said:

So here's a thought I just had. Is there ANYONE ELSE waiting to jump Harmony Gold if/when HG loses this suit?

I mean, is there anyone waiting to sue Harmony Gold because of the IP trolling HG has been doing over the years and just need legal proof that HG doesn't own Macross or the Macross mecha to do it?

IIRC they previously sued at least two companies for trying to distibute Macross merch in USA.

Also I understand HG has been blocking international release of any game in the main Super Robot Wars series that featured even one Macross character - whoever owns those games will be quite happy to capitalize on such a ruling.

[Dimento Graven]

CMDR Sunset Shimmer, on 19 April 2018 - 03:31 AM, said:

Spoiler

Low level crimes such as possession of a controlled substance [pot] which comes with a:
What Amount of Marijuana Do I Have to Carry to Violate Federal Law?
[color=#232222]
While federal authorities typically focus on high volume distributors, there are sentencing guidelines for possessing even the smallest amounts of marijuana. They include:[/color]

• First offense: a misdemeanor involving up to a year of incarceration and a $1,000 fine,
  
• Second offense: a misdemeanor involving a mandatory minimum of 15 days (and up to two years) of incarceration and a $2,500 fine, and
  
• Third offense or more: a misdemeanor or felony involving a mandatory minimum of 90 days (and up to three years) of incarceration and a $5,000 fine.

that's just for carrying even the smallest amount, you growing?:

What about Selling and Growing Marijuana?
[color=#232222]
If you are convicted of selling or cultivating significant amounts of marijuana, you will face strict federal penalties. (The gifting of small amounts of marijuana is treated as possession under federal law.) Federal sentences vary, depending on the scope of your production. They include:[/color]

• Less than 50 plants or 50 kg: felony involving up to five years of incarceration and a $250,000 fine,
  
• 50-99 plants or kilograms: felony involving up to 20 years of incarceration and a $1,000,000 fine,
  
• 100-999 plants or kilograms: felony involving 5-40 years of incarceration and a $500,000 fine, and
  
• 1,000 or more plants or kilograms: felony involving between 10 years to life and a $1,000,000 fine.

And that's at the federal level, doesn't matter if your state has it legal for recreation or not. If the ATF find out, they can throw you to the federal wolves...

THAT, is how the prisons are so full.

Oh and for a fun little aside to that... Sexual Assault via use of drug to render a person unable to give consent, carries a 0-15 year penalty at the federal level.

Oh I agree the laws on marijuana were originally put in place as a means of racial and class discrimination as at the time the primary users were the poor, and more specifically 'colored' poor.

Absolutely the prohibition of marijuana should be repealed and states should be able to enjoy it as a significant revenue stream.

Hell, in states where there's medical marijuana they've proven reduction in opiate addiction issues. States with recreational laws have enjoyed LARGE revenue streams from the hefty taxation of sales. PLUS, the state has a much more targeted law enforcement directive: Arrest those growing/selling illegally, without license.

The consumer is pretty much left alone unless they refuse to abide by the few restrictions (public consumption, motor vehicle driving while under the influence, age appropriateness of the consumer), in other words it's treated much like alcohol (and heck, even more strict than alcohol in Colorado, where it can only be sold in licensed distributors and absolutely under no circumstances can anyone under the age of 18 go in, unlike places where alcohol is sold).

The state sponsored slavery system (otherwise known as the penitentiary system) called for pulling in as many bodies as possible to work for free/pittance wages on state farms, roads, and other projects.

Then... then we started privatizing prisons and ALL HELL broke loose with minimum sentencing...

Edited by Dimento Graven, 19 April 2018 - 08:18 AM.

[BadgerWI]

Did we win the internets...I mean the case today?

[Sereglach]

BadgerWI, on 20 April 2018 - 02:25 PM, said:

Did we win the internets...I mean the case today?

It could be upwards of a week before we find out. We've always been at least a few days behind before documents end up in public venues. There aren't a lot of people running around with PACER and other legal document access accounts; and even then it takes a few days for the documents to be processed through the courtroom and into those databases.

[PheonixStorm]

All documents are posted at midnight (PST) on pacermonitor.

[guardiandashi]

From what I can tell no we didn't win yet.

With that said, there were 3 documents posted,

117, 118, and 119

all of which directly or indirectly really link back to #87 which was

https://www.courtlis...242820.87.1.pdf

basically Piranha gave the judge a letter that all he has to do is agree, and sign it, and HG's case is over and done with dismissed with prejudice due to lack of standing, as far as I know no one has yet paid go get access to 119 which is a reply to all of the stuff HG has filed in the last month or so most of which appears to be either hearsay evidence, flat out misstatements and or willfully false claims (aka lies)
if you have been following the current thread on the battletech forums
https://bg.battletec...p?topic=60546.0
around pg 6 or 16, there is a link to the actual pacer page that was reposted and some rather significant analysis that while biased (hey its a Battletech site not a HG fanboy site) basically notes that the Piranha lawyers keep coming to higher and higher levels of professional statements, where as HG has been sounding more and more desperate with most of their arguments boiling down to "the proof is We said so"