08-16-2016, 01:27 AM
Quote:Legal issues regarding Macross copyrightBoo, boo on ye, Macross will never saw western releases because of harmony gold being assholes, Robotech =/= Macross
Harmony Gold, via its license of Robotech, is the co-copyright owner in the US for images of mecha from the component series of the show, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. They have pursued multiple lawsuits against anyone using mecha which even vaguely resemble these designs.
Most notably, many early designs used in Battletech, such as the Warhammer, Valkyrie, and Marauder, were licensed directly from the Japanese producers of Macross, with the overlapping rights mistake not being realized for nearly a decade. Harmony Gold sued FASA, and as a result these designs were removed from the game. Fan outcry over 'The Unseen' has led to multiple attempts to negotiate deals allowing for resumed use of the designs, but despite in one case a sourcebook going to press before being abruptly pulled, no deal has ever been reached. As a result of the failed negotiations, the producers of Battletech ruled that any designs not developed in house would no longer be used in order to avoid future issues.
Harmony Gold issued cease and desist orders against sites displaying images and trailers from the deceased video game MechWarrior, due to one of the mechs used in the trailer being a Warhammer. The company claims that the images portray ’mechs that they own the rights to, according to a legal settlement from 1996.
The legal status of Harmony Gold's license to Macross is dubious. Harmony Gold's license for Macross came from Tatsunoko Production, but Japanese courts ruled that it was Studio Nue (creators of the series) that controls the Macross intellectual property. The license Tatsunoko was given was for international distribution outside Japan only, and does not allow them to control the intellectual property.According to the US Copyright Office, Harmony Gold is the Co-Copyright owner.
Harmony Gold is known for making broad ranging claims on the Macross copyright and trademarks in order to extract payments from other companies. Harmony Gold is the co-copyright owner per the US Copyright Office. Harmony Gold claims in Federal Court that Hasbro's SDCC 2013 exclusive set "G.I. Joe vs Transformers The Epic Conclusion" violates their copyright license and trademarks on the animated Japanese Macross TV series (1982–84). On September 23, 2013, Harmony Gold's suit against Hasbro was dismissed, and Hasbro was allowed to continue to sell the sets. Hasbro and Harmony Gold came to an agreement.
*continued anger rants*