Courthouse News reports that Harmony Gold, owners of the Robotech IP and by extension Macross in the USA, have filed a complaint that Hasbro’s recent SDCC 2013 exclusive G.I. Joe VS Transformers Skystriker Jetfire has infringed on their IP. The action, submitted to the US District Court, seeks injunctive relief and damages from Hasbro.
The action against Hasbro by Harmony Gold originates with the earliest origins of the Autobot Jetfire and the US licensing rights of the series from which his toy originated, Macross. Hasbro in 1984 licensed the VF-1 Valkyrie toy for use in Transformers as Jetfire, while during the same period, Harmony Gold licensed the rights to Macross from Tatsunako, including merchandising rights. This was one reason, in the original Generation 1 Transformers cartoon, for Jetfire featuring a much different design on screen and being phased out of the series early in the second season.
What Harmony Gold alleges is that Hasbro’s G.I. Joe VS Transformers Jetfire Skystriker toy infringes upon Harmony Gold’s rights to the marketing of Macross, including merchandising rights, outside of Japan, based on the resemblance of the toy to the Veritech VF-1 Valkyrie. They allege that the SDCC exclusive toy has caused, and continues to cause, financial damage to their company. As a result Harmony Gold are seeking the withdrawal of the G.I. Joe VS Transformers Jetfire Skystriker toy from sale, seizure of all remaining stock (including Hasbro to “recall from any person or entity known to them who purchased or received… any unauthorized toys or other products based on [Harmony Gold’s] copyrighted works”), Hasbro to pay all profits made on the set to Harmony Gold, in addition to damages, legal fees and “exemplary damages in an amount sufficient amount to punish and make a public example of Hasbro, and deter wrongful conduct in future”.
Short version for those who do not wish to read the long wall of text: Harmony Gold is taking action in the courts against Hasbro due to the resemblance of the G.I. Joe VS Transformers Jetfire Skystriker, and what they are seeking is:
1) Remaining toys to be removed from sale;
2) Unsold stock to be turned over to them (& a possible recall);
3) Lots of $ in damages.
View the original report on Courthouse News here, and a copy of the complaint lodged with the United States District Court here.
LegendAntihero
It's so good they were able to settle it. Now people who didn't go to SDCC can buy it online
WilyMech
I am so glad I am not lawyer.
As for funpub I was never a member.
warriorpriest
Glad to know i wasn't the only one on the whole forum to get picked.
Paladine
I'll be letting my set from FunPub expire too. Don't want it
warriorpriest
Anyone want my my set from FunPub? If so I need to know by tonight. Of not i will let them lotto it to someone else.
CKSpawn
That was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw a gen 1 Jetfire remake.
Cool he looks like a Macross witch kinda looks like a giant verson of the Robotech jet mech thing.
sh002
Wish they could someday reissue Jetfire. I'd love a MISB one.
ACE STRIKER
Im sure funpub is not going to ship them internationally for that $150 boys. So im sure you will have $180+ in them. Going price on Ebay all day long. No deal there.
Powersa
Wait, there're Joe fans outside of the US?
warriorpriest
True on the outside of the US part, but HTS is currently sold out.
Exclusives at HasbroToyShop.com | G.I. JOE TRANSFORMERS JETFIRE VEHICLE Product Details
Well at least at the time of me posting this reply.
G.B. Blackrock
Seems like it was known way back when that Fun Pub would charge more than Hasbro (they usually do when they do something like this). The only real benefit vs. buying from HTS (assuming HTS still has stock, of course) is that more folks not in the US can have access.
warriorpriest
I guess so. The funny thing is they want 30 bucks more then what hasbro was charging. I honestly doubt i will get it. I may check to see if anyone wants to buy it from me or let it go back into the drawing pool.
Armistice7
Hard to say. It was out of stock when I checked last night but was back in stock this morning so I made a purchase. It is now currently out of stock again.
G.B. Blackrock
So they ARE going ahead with the sale after all. Glad to know (cue complaint that no one was told about this in advance, poor communication from Fun Pub, yadda, yadda, yadda…).
warriorpriest
I got one of the lucky draw emails from Funpub. Anyone else get one??
Omegax80
And it's still for sale… guess there isn't a rush to grab this anymore…
03Mach1
Aren't you glad you took the time, deceptilaw?
SPLIT LIP
Ye. We found that out a while ago. Hasbro basically curb-stomped them out of court.
SemiOmegaPrime
Now that the SDCC set is being sold at HasbroToyShop.com, is it likely that Hasbro prevailed?
deceptilaw
It's true we don't know. BUT, almost no case in the United States is settled without the payment of money. Trust me, I've settled a ton of cases myself. Monies were paid to Harmony Gold. (I have only had one settlement that did not result in the payment of monies. Non-monetary settlements are rare.)
For those of you who want to think Hasbro won, you might be right, depending on how much Hasbro paid. According to the filings, Hasbro was engaging in settlement discussions in August and September. Given that settlement occurred without any discovery, Hasbro probably paid something that was generous to Harmony Gold but was far below the cost to defend an intellectual property case.
The reasons for settlement are plain in this case. The cost of victory for Hasbro would be high. It was in the position of fighting a case with costs in the low to mid six-figures over a one-off toy that, in all liklihood, resulted in very little or no profit that was aimed at a very small contingent of Hasbro's business (the adult collector). As a lawyer, you would have to advise your client to settle this one quickly, though I'm sure that was Hasbro's marching orders from the beginning.
For those expecting (1) the raffle from the Collectors Club or (2) a Masterpiece Jetfire toy that resembles the original 1985 toy, I have bad news for you. That is probably another piece of the settlement. I would expect that Harmony Gold sought and obtained in the settlement an agreement from Hasbro (1) to not distribute the offending Sky Striker toy and (2) to refrain, in the future, from repoducing similar toys. The reason TFCC would be disallowed from the raffle is that it is an official licensor of the product. Legal agreements to refrain from doing something, such as distributing a toy, always cover affiliated partners and agents.
Hasbro would agree to that, I think, because it concerns a toy mold from 1985 that it has never tried to reproduce before. The character "Jetfire", as we have seen, can take on a very different form with respect to future toys (see all the Jetfire toys besides the original.) From a business standpoint, it is a no-brainer.
Hasbro probably had some good defenses to the suit. Asserting those defenses would be expensive. Winning cases can be risky. Hasbro did what 99.9% of all defendants do: it settled.