Jump to content

Trolling About Robotech Mecha....


35 replies to this topic

#1 SonOfAgony

    Member

  • PipPipPip
  • 50 posts
  • Google+: Link
  • Facebook: Link
  • Location...still here in the Training Grounds trying figure out where to hit a Cataphract in the @#$%@#$% FACEHOLE!!!!

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:30 AM

So can't help but bring up the point that the Marauder, Warhamer, and a few others are from Robotech.
Why, did Battletech actually win some lawsuit I know nothing about long ago when Robotech's RPG was Palladium Games finest accomplishment?.

Some one help me understand this.

The Excalibur = Warhammer
the Zentraedi Officer's Mecha = Marauder
Spartan = ???Longbow???
and several others.

Edited by SonOfAgony, 14 November 2012 - 10:31 AM.


#2 Random Numbers

    Member

  • PipPipPip
  • 61 posts

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:34 AM

Radar X = Rifleman / Rifleman 2C
Kyron's Battlepod = Marauder

#3 Krivvan

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Littlest Helper
  • Littlest Helper
  • 4,318 posts
  • LocationUSA/Canada

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:36 AM

From what I understand (I wasn't exactly alive back then), those mechs were from the early stages of Battletech when they were less hesitant to *ehrm* borrow art assets.

#4 Reoh

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 959 posts

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:37 AM

The old battletech incorporated a number of what are commonly known as unseen mechs. Some of these were from the Macross\Robotech anime. They never won the right to use them and it has often caused problems. Eventually these were redesigned into the reseen which were different mechs entirely.

Unseen mechs were iconic for Battletech at the time and are often fan favorites, but we probably won't see them unless some deal was negotiated with, well not sure but I think it was Harmony Gold who had the rights.

#5 Stickjock

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Bad Company
  • Bad Company
  • 2,687 posts
  • LocationPetal, MS

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:38 AM

??!!?? When did this happen??

J/k... do a search for the "Unseen"... Paladium had nothing to do with it... it was a Copyright issue between FASA (original creator of BT) and Harmony Gold (japanese company that did RT)... still issues today with HG...

View PostKrivvan, on 14 November 2012 - 10:36 AM, said:

From what I understand (I wasn't exactly alive back then), those mechs were from the early stages of Battletech when they were less hesitant to *ehrm* borrow art assets.


OMG that makes me feel old... :(

Edited by Stickjock, 14 November 2012 - 10:39 AM.


#6 Krivvan

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Littlest Helper
  • Littlest Helper
  • 4,318 posts
  • LocationUSA/Canada

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:39 AM

View PostStickjock, on 14 November 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

Harmony Gold (japanese company that did RT)... still issues today with HG...


Wrong, Harmony Gold is the American company that had the rights to distribute RT in America. The Japanese company gave out full permission to use the designs. It's Harmony Gold that has issues with it.

Edited by Krivvan, 14 November 2012 - 10:43 AM.


#7 Vassago Rain

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Bridesmaid
  • Bridesmaid
  • 14,396 posts
  • LocationExodus fleet, HMS Kong Circumflex accent

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:39 AM

Once upon a time, FASA licensed some plastic toys and images from someone who wasn't anybody special. Then they approached another company to make their toys into a bigger franchise, which was denied. This other company went on to make an almost exact clone of FASA's toys, which got brought into court, where it was found out that FASA had licensed the original toys and images 'wrongly.' Somehow.

Then a gentleman's agreement was apparently reached, that only maybe two people knew of, neither of whom worked for either company years later. This said that they could do this and that, and the new FASA secured some rights to redraw the toys and images, but then the guys who knew about the agreement came out and said 'nope.' So they had to pull all of them.

Several times.

I don't think anyone really knows or cares about the legal status of the robotech artwork and plastics anymore, honestly. They could redraw it all - again - but then harmony gold might make a lot of noise, again, so what's the point?

#8 DeVivar

    Member

  • PipPip
  • 34 posts
  • LocationSwitzerland

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:41 AM

From Sarnanet:

The Unseen is a term used for some of the first BattleMech designs from the original game. These designs, longtime favorites of BattleTech fans, were based on mecha found in the Japanese anime series' Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Fang of the Sun Dougram and Crusher Joe.

Legal difficulties prohibited FASA from displaying any more pictures depicting these 'Mechs, although they were often freely mentioned in novels and books, and their rules remained legal. Thus, these 'Mechs remained unseen until the publication of Technical Readout: Project Phoenix, which presented "redesigns", allowing them to be used freely once again.

On 24 June, 2009, it was announced that Catalyst Game Labs had secured the permissions needed to utilize the original "unseen" artwork for these designs again.[/color]

Shortly after the return of the "unseen" BattleMechs was announced, the BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction PDF was pulled from circulation. Managing editor Randall Bills made a statement on Catalyst Game Labs' website on August 10th, 2009 explaining the move. An error was made in negotiating the distribution rights for some of the images. Twelve Unseen images, those originating from Macross, were again pulled from circulation and will remain unseen, due to their exclusive distribution rights (within the United States) belonging to another company (Harmony Gold). Whether or not these images will be licensed or purchased in the future remains to be seen. The tone of the article was doubtful.

Link: http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Unseen

Edited by DeVivar, 14 November 2012 - 10:43 AM.


#9 James The Fox Dixon

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Overlord
  • Overlord
  • 2,572 posts
  • LocationEpsilon Indi

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:42 AM

View PostReoh, on 14 November 2012 - 10:37 AM, said:

The old battletech incorporated a number of what are commonly known as unseen mechs. Some of these were from the Macross\Robotech anime. They never won the right to use them and it has often caused problems. Eventually these were redesigned into the reseen which were different mechs entirely.

Unseen mechs were iconic for Battletech at the time and are often fan favorites, but we probably won't see them unless some deal was negotiated with, well not sure but I think it was Harmony Gold who had the rights.


Categorically incorrect on all counts. Fasa licensed the images from Studio Nue a year before HG got the exclusive license to SDFM from Tatsunoko. Tatsunoko assumed that since they owned the anime series they also owned the mech and character designs. This was not the case when Studio Nue won it's 18 year legal battle against Tatsunoko. The Japanese Supreme Court ruled that Studio Nue owns the copyrights to the mecha and character designs while Tatsunoko owned the copyrights to the anime series. This makes the license and legal standing in the US for HG invalid. Under the Berne Convention, which the US and Japan are party to, means that the US courts have to adhere to the Japanese court ruling.

The mechs were properly licensed from Fasa while HG didn't properly licensed them from Tatsunoko because Tatsunoko does not own the copyrights to the designs.

#10 Vassago Rain

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Bridesmaid
  • Bridesmaid
  • 14,396 posts
  • LocationExodus fleet, HMS Kong Circumflex accent

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:44 AM

View PostJames The Fox Dixon, on 14 November 2012 - 10:42 AM, said:


Categorically incorrect on all counts. Fasa licensed the images from Studio Nue a year before HG got the exclusive license to SDFM from Tatsunoko. Tatsunoko assumed that since they owned the anime series they also owned the mech and character designs. This was not the case when Studio Nue won it's 18 year legal battle against Tatsunoko. The Japanese Supreme Court ruled that Studio Nue owns the copyrights to the mecha and character designs while Tatsunoko owned the copyrights to the anime series. This makes the license and legal standing in the US for HG invalid. Under the Berne Convention, which the US and Japan are party to, means that the US courts have to adhere to the Japanese court ruling.

The mechs were properly licensed from Fasa while HG didn't properly licensed them from Tatsunoko because Tatsunoko does not own the copyrights to the designs.


Are you saying I could legally have my phoenix hawks and stingers back?

#11 Kurayami

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Stone Cold
  • Stone Cold
  • 916 posts
  • LocationSochi

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:44 AM

"a few"? like half if not more mecha of MechWarrior came form various animu or was based on such a designs =:(=

#12 James The Fox Dixon

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Overlord
  • Overlord
  • 2,572 posts
  • LocationEpsilon Indi

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:45 AM

View PostKrivvan, on 14 November 2012 - 10:39 AM, said:


Wrong, Harmony Gold is the American company that had the rights to distribute RT in America. The Japanese company gave out full permission to use the designs. It's Harmony Gold that has issues with it.


HG has only the rights to distribute the anime series not the mech and character designs since Tatsunoko does not own them. Studio Nue owns the mech and character designs.

View PostVassago Rain, on 14 November 2012 - 10:44 AM, said:


Are you saying I could legally have my phoenix hawks and stingers back?


Yup, if PGI wants to license them from Studio Nue and there isn't a thing HG can do.

#13 Stickjock

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Bad Company
  • Bad Company
  • 2,687 posts
  • LocationPetal, MS

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:46 AM

View PostKrivvan, on 14 November 2012 - 10:39 AM, said:


Wrong, Harmony Gold is the American company that had the rights to distribute RT in America. The Japanese company gave out full permission to use the designs. It's Harmony Gold that has issues with it.


Thanks for the Clarification... yes, they where the American Co that become CO-Copyright holder of all Macross related material...

Anywho... here's a "long" read for anyone interested...

Quote

In recent days, two different companies planning to release content based on the original BattleTech game have had their efforts stymied, apparently by Robotech-owner Harmony Gold. This article looks at the history behind the legal enmity. To note, I am not a lawyer, a paralegal, or even a single legal; this is all based on my layperson’s reading of the information I have been able to find.
Back in 1984, roleplaying game company FASA came out with the BattleTech wargame, and subsequently the MechWarrior role-playing game, in which armies of giant robots slugged it out on the field of battle. They had just one problem, though: they needed some giant robots. At the time, it was cheaper to license giant robots that someone else had created than to design their own. So they turned to a model importer, Twentieth Century Imports.
Accounts vary as to whether TCI actually had the rights to license those images. Some people say that [color="#5588aa"]TCI did have Import Derivatives Rights[/color]; others say [color="#5588aa"]they didn't[/color]. FASA claimed in [color="#5588aa"]one of its filings[/color] that Harmony Gold’s license specifically excluded Japanese model kits produced for export—but the judge in that case was not convinced.
Whether they had the rights or not, the mechs used in BattleTech included a number of mecha from several Japanese animated series—one of which was Macross. BattleTech mechs known as the Wasp, Stinger, Phoenix Hawk, and Warhammer, among others, all derive from those designs.
Meanwhile, Harmony Gold licensed the overseas distribution rights to—and indeed became co-copyright-owner of—Macross, and Macross-derived elements such as mecha designs, with Tatsunoko Studios in Japan. This included those Macross mecha designs. In January, 1985, Harmony Gold sent FASA a cease-and-desist letter, sparking [color="#5588aa"]"an exchange of correspondence between the parties including numerous cease and desist letters from Harmony Gold."[/color]
But FASA kept on using the designs, and Harmony Gold never filed any legal action against them. Probably at least part of this was because of a period of hibernation Harmony Gold went into during the late '80s through early '90s, in which they basically just rubber-stamped any Robotech-related tie-in that came across their desks. This was also when they let Macross II and Macross Plus slip by into licensehood without asserting that they owned the rights.
Fast-forward six years to the early 1990s. In 1991 and 1992, FASA was looking into expanding its BattleTech line—already the subject of roleplaying games, computer games, and novels—into other media. First they pitched a toy line to Playmates, who had been looking for a giant robot toy line. Playmates considered it, but finally decided they weren't interested. Subsequently, FASA entered into an arrangement with Tyco to produce BattleTech toys, and with Saban to produce a tie-in animated show about those toys.
The show lasted 13 episodes, and aired in 1994. BattleTech-the-game fans [color="#5588aa"]weren't terribly impressed[/color] at the way the cartoon played fast and loose with the BattleTech canon (that's with one 'n', I'm not talking about PPCs) and the toys were described by many as some of the ugliest things they've ever seen.
But meanwhile, PlayMates had came out with its Exosquad line and cartoon, which lasted 52 episodes from 1993 to 1994. Given that ExoSquad had some suspicious similarities to BattleTech, in 1994 FASA filed suit against Playmates, alleging copyright and trademark infringement among other things.
But meanwhile, it was FASA's bad luck that Playmates had buddied up with newly-awakened Harmony Gold, and was selling reissues of some of the old Matchbox Robotech toys under the Exosquad brand name.
So, in 1995, Harmony Gold came to the defense of its merchandising partner and filed suit against FASA for using those Macross mecha designs in its early BattleTech editions. We'll come back to that case later, but let's look at FASA vs. Playmates first.
As FASA asserted in its filing, the Exosquad storyline shares a remarkable number of similarities with BattleTech: most notably, the use of neurally-controlled giant robots by humans to fight an invasion by genetically-modified humans using similar robots. It even used the name "Draconis"—one of the BattleTech houses—for a character. FASA also pointed out that one of the Exosquad "e-frame" mecha strongly resembled a BattleTech Madcat, and the others resembled other BattleTech mechs. And, funny thing, Playmates had several months in which to look over the material FASA sent them as part of its own toy pitch—some of which they never actually returned.
In 1996, Judge Ruben Castillo found [color="#5588aa"]"that FASA has established certain protectible (sic) copyright and trademark rights but has failed to prove any facts which establish liability on the part of Playmates."[/color] But feeling they brought the case in good faith, Castillo declined to force FASA to pay Playmates's legal bills.
(This did not prevent Playmates's lawyers from filing an appeal to try to get FASA saddled with those bills, but the appeals court remanded the matter back to Castillo, who wrote [color="#5588aa"]a hilariously sarcastic fourth opinion in the case[/color] noting that if Playmates didn't understand his reasoning, they should have just asked him about it at the time instead of trying to go over his head.)
It's not terribly relevant to the matter at hand, but I think worth noting, that a May 13, 2009 article in the Chicago Sun-Times [color="#5588aa"]mentions that Ruben Castillo is on Obama's short-list for Supreme Court nominations[/color]. We may very well end up with a Supreme Court judge who decided a Robotech-related case.
Getting back to the other case, that of Harmony Gold vs. FASA, the details are sketchy as I was only ever able to find two documents relating to it in legal-search databases. One of them was [color="#5588aa"]a denial of a motion for summary judgment[/color] on the part of FASA—they hadn't made a good enough case for that—and the other was a [color="#5588aa"]denial of a motion from Harmony Gold[/color] asking that FASA return some documents Harmony Gold had mistakenly sent them.
We may never know whether TCI actually did have the rights to sell those mecha designs or not, because in 1997 a FASA representative [color="#5588aa"]posted to Usenet that the case had been settled out of court and dismissed[/color]. As one condition of the settlement, FASA was not permitted to talk about the settlement. The FASA representative also announced that the mechs under contention had been phased out of the game universe and would not be seen again. BattleTech fans started referring to them as “the Unseen.”
Since that time, FASA has gone out of business, and the BattleTech rights have gone through a number of different hands. The computer game rights went to Microsoft, and the print-game rights went to WizKids, a company founded by FASA-founder Jordan Weisman, and were then transferred to [color="#5588aa"]Catalyst Game Labs[/color]. Another company founded by Weisman, [color="#5588aa"]Smith & Tinker Inc.[/color], has re-licensed the BattleTech computer game rights from Microsoft and is making MechWarrier 5 in partnership with another company called Piranha. And this is where things get interesting.
Just recently, Catalyst announced they had reobtained the rights to use original images of the "Unseen" mechs and would be publishing them again—until they were [color="#5588aa"]brought up short[/color] when an unnamed company contacted them about terms of the confidential settlement which included an agreement "that the sole and exclusive world-wide right to [the Macross] mecha (outside of Japan) would rest with another US company." Catalyst insisted that none of the people it had contacted about the matter prior to this had known of the settlement, but it was complying and hoped to work with the unnamed company in the future.
Meanwhile, a certainly-not-unnamed company, Harmony Gold, [color="#5588aa"]has been sending cease-and-desist orders to websites hosting the MechWarrior 5 trailer[/color], on the grounds that it features one of the Unseen—a Warhammer, otherwise known as a Macross Tomahawk or Robotech Excalibur.
When I had Harmony Gold representative Kevin McKeever on my live Space Station Liberty talk show the other day (mp3 download [color="#5588aa"]here[/color]), I brought up the Catalyst Game Labs issue. This is what Kevin had to say, starting approximately 1:03:30 into the show:[indent]Right now I can only simply say this: Harmony Gold has not been stripped of any rights. We entered into a confidential settlement agreement that I can't discuss. [...] There is one thing I want to point out, that Harmony Gold still continues to enjoy exclusive control of the Robotech property, and imagery contained within it.[/indent]
I should emphasize that this statement was given in response to the question about Catalyst Game Labs. At the time, I had no knowledge of the MechWarrier 5 trailer issue, though I suspect Kevin's response if I asked him about that would be identical. Smith & Tinker [color="#5588aa"]has already told IGN[/color] they have no comment in the matter.
I have to wonder what the companies were thinking. At the least, it would seem that both Catalyst and Smith & Tinker failed to do their homework, or what in business is called "due diligence," before embarking on that action. For Catalyst, this is somewhat understandable given that it is a third party to the legal case. But Smith & Tinker was founded and is led by FASA founder Jordan Weisman—and if anybody should know the terms of that settlement, he should.
The icing on the cake is that a legal dispute has been going on over in Japan over the last few years as to who really DOES own the rights to those mecha designs. Harmony Gold's claim that they advanced in the '90s court case comes from their partnership with Tatsunoko Studios, who was one of the companies involved in producing the Macross TV series. However, even though the Japanese courts [color="#5588aa"]have given Tatsunoko the "author's rights" to the series[/color], they [color="#5588aa"]have given ownership of the character and mecha designs to Studio Nue[/color], the company that designed them.
If this is in fact the case, Harmony Gold would not have a legal leg to stand on when it came to preventing BattleTech from using Macross mecha—in an ironic echo of FASA, they licensed them from a company that didn't have the right to grant them. (Though judging from Kevin McKeever’s “have not been stripped” comment above, clearly Harmony Gold does not believe this to be true.) And FASA has worked with Studio Nue itself; they commissioned Nue to redesign those "Unseen" mecha for the Japanese edition of the BattleTech game.
Update: As I have been informed in comments below, this is not the case after all. I was misunderstanding what the divided rights meant. In fact, they mean that Tatsunoko (in Japan, and hence Harmony Gold outside of Japan) has the exclusive right to distribute and merchandise the Macross show that’s been made already and all elements within it; Big West and Studio Nue have the exclusive right to make new derivative works based on those elements. This could have interesting implications for the planned Robotech live-action movie. (Though it does set up the question of whether the BattleTech game would legally be considered merchandising of the Harmony Gold-owned Macross, or a derivative work based on the Nue-owned mecha designs.)
So, is Jordan Weisman intentionally setting up for a legal rematch with Harmony Gold? It doesn't seem to make sense. Only hardcore BattleTech fans would care one way or the other whether the Unseen mechs come back, and the legal fees Weisman is risking are out of proportion to any possible financial gain. But it seems really weird for a Warhammer to show up in a MechWarrior game "by accident" after the long legal history it's been a part of.
Given the lack of representatives from any of the companies involved to comment, apart from Harmony Gold, guesswork is all we have right now. But I would be delighted if representatives from any of those companies would agree to appear on my show and present their side of the story.



#14 Vassago Rain

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Bridesmaid
  • Bridesmaid
  • 14,396 posts
  • LocationExodus fleet, HMS Kong Circumflex accent

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:46 AM

View PostJames The Fox Dixon, on 14 November 2012 - 10:45 AM, said:


HG has only the rights to distribute the anime series not the mech and character designs since Tatsunoko does not own them. Studio Nue owns the mech and character designs.



Yup, if PGI wants to license them from Studio Nue and there isn't a thing HG can do.


Posted Image

#15 One Medic Army

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 5,985 posts
  • LocationBay Area, California

Posted 14 November 2012 - 10:58 AM

Not really, Harmony Gold purchased international rights to Robotech, and they vigorously *ahem* defend those rights (read sue everyone).
Unfortunately US courts have upheld that HG has complete international rights to everything Robotech/Macross and as far as the US courts are concerned Studio Nue only retains the Japanese rights. This court decision only affects the US, but the US happens to contain lots of devs, publishers, and consumers.

Now since PGI is a Canadian company as I recall, I don't know what stance Canada's courts would take on the issue. They could ignore the US court ruling or follow it. PGI would in either case have to spend valuable time and money defending themselves from those ****suckers at Harmony Gold in court.

In short, unless the designs are changed so thoroughly that they are visually unrecognizable they'll be left out to save legal headaches (and HG may just sue anyway because the names popped up on someone's radar in their gigantic legal department). Seeing the way the hardpoint system works, they could be replaced by other mechs anyway.

Some days I think Harmony Gold only exists to **** over people who enjoy mechs, both robotech fans and anything that may look even slightly similar.

Edited by One Medic Army, 14 November 2012 - 11:04 AM.


#16 James The Fox Dixon

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Overlord
  • Overlord
  • 2,572 posts
  • LocationEpsilon Indi

Posted 14 November 2012 - 11:00 AM

View PostOne Medic Army, on 14 November 2012 - 10:58 AM, said:

Not really, Harmony Gold purchased international rights to Robotech, and the vigorously *ahem* defend those rights (read sue everyone).
Unfortunately US courts have upheld that HG has complete international rights to everything Robotech/Macross and as far as the US courts are concerned Studio Nue only retains the Japanese rights. This court decision only affects the US, but the US happens to contain lots of devs, publishers, and consumers.

Now since PGI is a Canadian company as I recall, I don't know what stance Canada's courts would take on the issue.


Tatsunoko doesn't have the rights to the mechs, so they couldn't have licensed them to HG. It's an invalid contract and the courts, of the countries that are signatory to the Berne Convention, must uphold the original Japanese ruling. That's how the Berne Convention works.

#17 One Medic Army

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 5,985 posts
  • LocationBay Area, California

Posted 14 November 2012 - 11:07 AM

Tell that to Harmony Gold, they've sued and won to keep pretty much every single Robotech/Macross related item produced in Japan from ever being sold in the US. All Robotech/Macross model kits, games, and new animated properties need to be bought internationally by US consumers.

[edit] Here's the text of the FASA vs HG court decision for anyone interested in the particulars.

Edited by One Medic Army, 14 November 2012 - 11:12 AM.


#18 James The Fox Dixon

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Overlord
  • Overlord
  • 2,572 posts
  • LocationEpsilon Indi

Posted 14 November 2012 - 11:09 AM

View PostOne Medic Army, on 14 November 2012 - 11:07 AM, said:

Tell that to Harmony Gold, they've sued and won to keep pretty much every single Robotech/Macross related item produced in Japan from ever being sold in the US.


No, they haven't won against Fasa. They settled out of court which leaves the matter undecided in US courts until such time either party wants to pursue it. This time Fasa will get a judgment in their favor if they sue because Tatsunoko does not own the copyrights to the designs and cannot legally under US law license them to HG. That is copyright infringement of Studio Nue's copyrights.

EDIT: That court case you linked was settled out of court. With no judgment given as to who licensed what. That court case also predates the Studio Nue vs. Tatsunoko judgment by a decade. The latest verdict from Japan gave the rights to the designs to Studio Nue since there wasn't a work for hire contract in effect and the anime series belongs to Tatsunoko.

Edited by James The Fox Dixon, 14 November 2012 - 11:12 AM.


#19 Clay Pigeon

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Mercenary Rank 3
  • Mercenary Rank 3
  • 1,121 posts

Posted 14 November 2012 - 11:09 AM

View PostOne Medic Army, on 14 November 2012 - 11:07 AM, said:

Tell that to Harmony Gold, they've sued and won to keep pretty much every single Robotech/Macross related item produced in Japan from ever being sold in the US. All Robotech/Macross model kits, games, and new animated properties need to be bought internationally by US consumers.


Studio Nue actually won the rights in Japanese Court to the designs.

#20 One Medic Army

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 5,985 posts
  • LocationBay Area, California

Posted 14 November 2012 - 11:15 AM

View PostJames The Fox Dixon, on 14 November 2012 - 11:09 AM, said:


No, they haven't won against Fasa. They settled out of court which leaves the matter undecided in US courts until such time either party wants to pursue it. This time Fasa will get a judgment in their favor if they sue because Tatsunoko does not own the copyrights to the designs and cannot legally under US law license them to HG. That is copyright infringement of Studio Nue's copyrights.

EDIT: That court case you linked was settled out of court. With no judgment given as to who licensed what. That court case also predates the Studio Nue vs. Tatsunoko judgment by a decade. The latest verdict from Japan gave the rights to the designs to Studio Nue since there wasn't a work for hire contract in effect and the anime series belongs to Tatsunoko.

A decision was reached, and then they settled. It wasn't settled before a decision was reached.
The Japanese ruling, while giving hope to everyone who hates HG isn't yet relevant in the US until someone takes on HarmonyGold here and uses it as supporting evidence.

As stated above the big issue is that HarmonyGold would sue the pants off of PGI if they tried anything with the unseen (and they already have) and I don't think PGI wants to spend the time/money defending themselves entails.

Edited by One Medic Army, 14 November 2012 - 11:16 AM.






1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users