TheLoneWolf

I hope you're good at dealing with disappointment, because once those scans/pdfs are released into the wild...

Thanks for posting that explanation. From what little I knew of the situation, it sounded like the book was cancelled due to fan entitlement run amuck. I'm glad that Roger was able to dismiss that fracas for what it was, but it's still disappointing to learn of the book's ultimate fate.

Good question. I don't know the answer, but if I had to hazard a few guesses I'd say: 1) It's getting harder and harder to turn a profit on anime in the West* 2) The real-robot genre isn't as popular in the West as it used to be* 3) Rumor is that you need to offer Big West a lot of $$$ to license Macross anime *Naturally, Gundam is the exception

That's right, I'm only trying to collect all the facts and leave out as much bias and opinion as possible. I've included a little bit of analysis, but it's only to help newcomers unfamiliar with legalese understand what's going on. And even then, I'm trying my hardest to keep that analysis as impartial as possible. I want people to be able to read the facts and then formulate their own opinions, even if I don't agree with some of those opinions. Totoro242, yeah it might just be two different prototypes out there. Or maybe something just got lost in one (or both) of the translations.

Hmm, I'm starting to think about having an attorney review all of my posts before I post them. I wouldn't want anyone confusing colorful grandiloquence as binding contract language. I agree that Macross II isn't the only series being given short shrift by the Chonicles. But I think it's possible that more material could be released for say, The Galaxy Is Calling Me, in the next few years than Macross II. For Macross II, the Chronicles most likely presents the series' last chance of seeing any noteworthy material published. Perhaps for Macross' 50th anniversary, Macross II might be revisited, but I doubt Macross II fans would want to wait that long.

Totoro, thanks for that link, finally some official word! Though I think Matt may have made one mistake it in. He says that a company called Watanabe Giken created the VF-1J prototype in that picture. But according to Vifam 7, Tamashii's article (other one here) on the 1/55 says that Kawamori created that particular prototype model (and that it's actually painted wood). So now the question is: who's right? Yes, I know that Matsushiro made the original molds. I chose those words so that readers wouldn't get confused between the creator of the 1/55 molds and the manufacter of 1/55 toys. It's ok, you can relax now.

You shouldn't believe everything you read on the Internet, there's a lot of misinformation out there, and that blog is no exception. That blog actually has it backwards. Some of the DYRL toy molds came from Jetfire, not vice versa. When Takatoku went under, Matsushiro obtained the 1/55 molds and released Hikaru's 1/55 VF-1J in Europe. At that time, Hasbro was looking for more transforming toys to include in its Transformers line, so they contracted with Matsushiro to manufacture Jetfire as a Transformer. However, the 1/55 molds had to be modified in order to comply with US safety laws, with the most notable change being the blunted nosecone. Shortly thereafter, Matshushiro went under and Bandai acquired the 1/55 molds along with Matsushiro's existing contract with Hasbro. Bandai honored Matsushiro's contract with Hasbro and continued to manufacture Jetfire toys. Meanwhile, in Japan, Bandai began to manufacture DYRL toys to coincide with the DYRL release. Bandai's first DYRL toy, Hikaru's 1/55 VF-1S Strike Valkyrie, retained the original sharp nosecone. But for reasons unknown, Bandai's subsequent DYRL toys (1/55 Super Ostrich and 1/55 Elintseeker) incorporated Jetfire's blunted nosecone. So as you can see, the latter DYRL toys were made from Jetfire's molds. Not the other way around. I only wish that I had some official sources to back up this story.

No, Harmony Gold has never given credit to Big West. All of their business dealings only involved Tatsunoko Productions, which is why they only credit Tatsunoko.

Ahh, Kevin McKeever, our everlasting fountain of knowledge and wisdom. Can you provide any links where he told you that? I'm not going to include Kevin's quotes in my post because he's a heavily prejudiced source, but I think I could use a good laugh.

I haven't heard Harmony Gold state that they control all things Macross since the Tokyo District Court ruling. Do you have any links or such? Since the TDC ruling, whenever someone asks Harmony Gold for details about Macross, they give the typical "We own Macross." lawyer-speak reply. Succinct, cryptic, and damn unhelpful. Their lawyers have trained them well. As for how HG got the DYRL merchandising rights, I seem to recall that they said it was included in their original contract with Tatsunoko and that they somehow managed to overlook it this whole time. As insipid as that explanation is, it's the best one out there since Tatsunoko did work on DYRL. Harmony Gold definitely did not get their DYRL merchandising rights from Big West. Look at any of the boxes from Toynami's DYRL toys, the toys' copyright lists Harmony Gold and Tatsunoko; nowhere is Big West mentioned.

I do seem to remember recall the "no one was minding the store" explanation from Harmony Gold on the old board. Is this what you're referring to? I'm reluctant to include it since I can't find any official citations for it, but it was an important explanation nonetheless, so I'll make an exception this once.

Alright, I've updated my sources information for the sake of verifiability. And thanks to whoever pinned this thread! I understand that things will get confusing with two license threads being pinned, so I think we have three options to go ahead with: 1) Leave things as they are 2) Clean and lock this thread up, while leaving the older one up for discussion 3) Lock the older license thread and leave this one up for discussion I personally prefer option 3. I have no problem with this thread being used for license discussions and rants, but I will maintain the first post so that any newcomers will have easy access to the most up-to-date information. Plus, it'll be better to have only one pinned license thread. Naturally, I'll go along with whatever course of action the mods decide is best. edit: Mods, since the bulk of the old license thread had to do with the Robotech live action movie, do you think it's time to restart another LAM thread? I've sifted through the older threads and included the information that I found in the Sources section. If I missed anything, feel free to post a link.

Bri, Gubaba, thanks for the kind words. I do plan on adding in some information from previous posts (see the Sources section), such as credible links from the lawsuit, but that's going to take some time. I do think it's important for the sake of credibility, otherwise it could just be categorized as more fan conjecture. I'll add in a bit on the European release of Macross 7 Trash later today. I know that HG and TokyoPop wanted to release it in the USA, but I'm having a hard time finding locating an official confirmation. I believe the only official story was posted on RT.com long ago, and I can't seem to find that story. Without an official source, I'm hesitant to add it in.

Original thread - http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=153 No one knows the exact details of the 1984 contract between Harmony Gold and Tatsunoko Productions because this contract has not been made public. However, we can infer what the contract entails from Harmony Gold's actions and inactions. I'll keep this first post updated with the most reliable information. SDF Macross On October 1st, 1982, Tatsunoko Productions asked for and received the worldwide (excluding Japan) film distribution and merchandising rights from Big West as compensation for their animation assistance with SDF Macross. On January 15th, 1984, Harmony Gold licensed, and later acquired, these same film distribution and merchandising rights from Tatsunoko. However, the intellectual property rights for SDF Macross still resides with Big West. What this means is that Harmony Gold can legally distribute the SDF Macross footage outside of Japan (ie: the AnimEigo and ADV Macross DVD's) and edit the footage at their discretion (ie: Robotech). However, they cannot create any new animation or movies using the SDF Macross characters and mecha because they do not have the intellectual property rights. Comic books and videogames are excluded as these fall under the category of merchandising rights. Macross: Do You Remember Love Harmony Gold also has the worldwide (excluding Japan) merchandising rights to Macross: Do You Remember Love. However, they do not have the film distribution rights nor the intellectual property rights to this movie. What this means is that Harmony Gold can legally license the distribution of DYRL merchandise (ie: Toynami's DYRL Super Posable toys) worldwide (excluding Japan). However, Harmony Gold cannot release DYRL on video, nor can they create any new animation or movies using the DYRL characters and mecha. Comic books and videogames are excluded as these fall under the category of merchandising rights. On a related note, in 1988, Celebrity's Just For Kids released DYRL (as 'Macross in Clash of the Bionoids') in the USA under a license from Toho International Co. Ltd. In 1995, Best Film & Video Corp. released DYRL (as 'Superdimensional Fortress Macross') in the USA under a license from Big West. At Anime Central 2001, Robert Woodhead (of AnimEigo) was asked about DYRL and he said that nobody knows who owns the worldwide (excluding Japan) film distribution rights anymore. Macross II, Macross Plus and Macross 7 Trash The film distribution rights for Macross II and Macross Plus were licensed from Big West, by U.S. Renditions (1992) and Manga Entertainment (1995), for release in the USA without any involvement from Harmony Gold. Likewise, Macross 7 Trash was licensed from Big West, by Glénat (1998), for release in France without any involvement from Harmony Gold. In 2003, Tokyopop announced that they would release Macross 7 Trash in the USA under a license from Harmony Gold, however, the manga was never published and no official explanation was given. Harmony Gold said that they were not involved with Macross II and Macross Plus because "no one was minding the store" at that time (source needed). The subsequent Tokyo District Court ruling determined that Tatsunoko Productions (and by extension Harmony Gold) did not have any copyrights to the Macross derivatives (ie: Macross II, Macross Plus), thereby rendering the "no one was minding the store" explanation moot. The rest of the series As for the rest of the Macross series (ie: Frontier, 7, et al), Harmony Gold only has certain rights to these. In 1999 and 2002, Harmony Gold tradedmarked the name 'Macross' in the USA, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom. What this means is that any series and merchandising featuring the 'Macross' trademark would have to compensate Harmony Gold for the use of that trademark in those respective countries. Harmony Gold also trademarked 'U.N. Spacy' in the USA and Canada. In the European Union, 'U.N. Spacy' was trademarked in November 2007 and is held by Yugenkaisya Suneast trading (aka Suneast Co.Ltd) from Tokyo, Japan.* This is just my understanding of the current legal situation. It may not be 100% accurate, so any corrections are welcome. Sources: Harmony Gold et al v. FASA Corporation et al, 1996 WL 332689 (N.D.Ill.) Macross 7 Trash published in France by Glénat - http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...st&p=732684 “Fun at Acen” - http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.mac...27c03d7fffd14ff “Tatsunoko Wins Macross Lawsuit” - http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2004-...macross-lawsuit “Macross Lawsuit” - http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2002-...macross-lawsuit Big West statement - http://web.archive.org/web/20020803190522/...ents/index.html Loo, E.:”Separated at Birth”, Animerica, 2003, Vol.11, No.1, p. 47 "Tokyopop to Publish Macross 7 Trash Manga" - http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-rele...s-7-trash-manga Tom Bateman states that Harmony Gold acquired DYRL merchandising rights - http://www.robotech.com/community/forum/re...mp;pagenumber=3 Canada trademark filing - http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/trdmrks/...ntIndexOnPage=1 United Kingdom trademark filing - http://www.ipo.gov.uk/domestic?domesticnum=2204547 European Union trademark filing - http://oami.europa.eu/bulletin/ctm/2005/20...1/003853926.htm United States, Germany and Spain trademark filing - These websites do not allow direct linking and must be searched manually. *A huge thanks to Bri for getting the trademark information!

I like that idea. A clean(er) license thread and another thread that is dedicated to the cesspool of RT hate. I'll work on the former. But if the mods don't like the idea, then they can delete it.

Not to mention that this thread is longer than most of the threads already in Hall of Super Topics.

Why can't people take their ban like a man? AgentOne did. And 3 years later he asked for leniancy, now he's back. It's not that difficult.

You did an incredible job on this kit, your friend is a very lucky guy!

I have to agree with sketchley, 'emigrant' and 'colony/colonist' are very different words in the English language. For example, you could correctly say: In the 19th century, the Statue of Liberty greeted the emigrants from Europe. However, it would incorrect to say: In the 19th century, the Statue of Liberty greeted the colonists from Europe.

The Macross DYRL Special was actually subtitled and shown at MW Con '07. Though I'm not sure why it was never made available, you'd have to ask Shawn or Solscud007. Maybe they thought that everyone's interest had died down? http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...st&p=500976

Good stuff, thanks Gubaba!

I'm glad to see you've taken a sincere interest in this case by taking the time to do some research. It's very refreshing when compared to the typical idiot who comes through here screaming "death to HG!" based on incomplete rumors they've heard from their roomate's friend, who heard it from his neighbor, who heard it from a cab driver, who read about it online. Yeah, it's like going back in time. If I really could go back in time, I'd save the old boards from being shipped off to Area 51.

Thanks for taking the time to dig up those old articles, but it's really nothing new for those of us who are actually following the matter. In fact, when I reread it, I became a little confused because it mentioned that no one knows if Big West granted Macross' international film rights to Tatsunoko back in '82, when we now know for certain that Big West did give them those rights.

Kinda...sorta. http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...=20567&st=0

Thanks for the input, I'm considering purchasing a 120gb drive and was wondering how smooth the process went. BoBe-Patt, from what I've read, the transfer cable is only free if you upgrade from a standard 360 to an elite/special edition 360. Though I don't know if you're eligible if you're merely upgrading from a 20gb hard drive to a 60gb.