HG and BW reach an agreement (Link included)

[TMBounty_Hunter]

So BW own the shows, characters, designs, etc, but do they own the songs? Do they partner with Flying Dog to distribute the songs or does Flying Dog own the songs?

 

Is this deal gonna unblock Fukuyama Fire on spotify outside Japan and lead to more Macross being added there?

[jvmacross]

Hoping the next Bandai DX VF-1 will come with an available slipsleeve international version....like they have done with the Voltrons

[JB0]

34 minutes ago, Nied said:

Something else that just occurred to me: If this really is HG abandoning the field and bending the knee and whatever other overwrought metaphor Seto says, why did HG and BW agree to co-produce future Robotech properties?

Because it gives Big West gets veto power over future Robotech decisions?

It is hard to see how this is a win when HG used to answer to no one.

[Gerli]

50 minutes ago, Nied said:

Something else that just occurred to me: If this really is HG abandoning the field and bending the knee and whatever other overwrought metaphor Seto says, why did HG and BW agree to co-produce future Robotech properties?

The hypothetical movie seems to be the obvious reason...

[jenius]

In the merchandise front, it might mean BW won't forbid manufacturers to distribute in HG's territory so I've got my fingers crossed. Small HG manufacturers won't gain much as they won't have any distribution in Japan but Bandai might benefit. Too bad yamato didn't live to this day.

[Gerli]

16 minutes ago, jenius said:

In the merchandise front, it might mean BW won't forbid manufacturers to distribute in HG's territory so I've got my fingers crossed. Small HG manufacturers won't gain much as they won't have any distribution in Japan but Bandai might benefit. Too bad yamato didn't live to this day.

If Small manufacturers are like this guy, I don't think there is gonna be nice things in the future...

[spacemanoeuvres]

16 minutes ago, jenius said:

In the merchandise front, it might mean BW won't forbid manufacturers to distribute in HG's territory so I've got my fingers crossed. Small HG manufacturers won't gain much as they won't have any distribution in Japan but Bandai might benefit. Too bad yamato didn't live to this day.

*Fingers crossed*
Does that mean we would gain access to TWE?

[azrael]

1 hour ago, Mommar said:

Will this agreement make it possible to open up the world-wide market to Arcadia, i.e. they can finally cater designs/toys to an audience outside of Japan who would want a 1/3000 SDFM Macross?  Because if it doesn’t I certainly didn’t win.

Again, HG still retains the merch rights to SDFM and DYRL. Any product using those designs still have to contend with HG. 
 

10 minutes ago, jenius said:

In the merchandise front, it might mean BW won't forbid manufacturers to distribute in HG's territory so I've got my fingers crossed. Small HG manufacturers won't gain much as they won't have any distribution in Japan but Bandai might benefit. Too bad yamato didn't live to this day.

HG won’t stop BW from allowing sequel merch from coming over. HG still have a say on SDFM and DYRL goods. DX VF-31 with English booklets? Come on in. You’ll still pay enough to make you regret it, more or less. But that has more to do with the niche market surrounding such collectibles. 

[Sanity is Optional]

Aside from wether or not we get SDFM/DYRL merch in the US, I'm somewhat hopeful that merch and releases for other series might be showing up.

For example, perhaps international distribution for upcoming Delta Merch, or an official English sub release of Frontier.

[Mommar]

1 hour ago, azrael said:

Again, HG still retains the merch rights to SDFM and DYRL. Any product using those designs still have to contend with HG.  

As I said, if I still can’t obtain my absolute favorite Capitol Ship then it’s not a win in my eyes.

[danth]

Does this increase chances of a Valkyrie Lego Ideas set?

[kajnrig]

So... HG can't make derivative works based on SDFM/DYRL.

BW can... but BW can't distribute that stuff - if it contains characters and/or mecha designs from SDFM/DYRL - outside Japan without contending with HG's trademark claims, which 1) previously, they were doing so (in the EU, and before/concurrent to that in China) by way of lawsuit claiming original use; and 2) now, by way of some sort of... sublicensing agreement with HG?

Is that about right? All this secondhand legal mumbo-jumbo is as mind-boggling to me as it ever was. I need to see whatever agreement(s) they signed.

[treatment]

2 hours ago, TMBounty_Hunter said:

So BW own the shows, characters, designs, etc, but do they own the songs? Do they partner with Flying Dog to distribute the songs or does Flying Dog own the songs?

 

Is this deal gonna unblock Fukuyama Fire on spotify outside Japan and lead to more Macross being added there?

 

Thought Sony and Victor are partners or something?

iirc, Victor Entertainment (or whatever they're called these days) used to either outright own and/or have exclusive worldwide distritbution rights and stuff  to all of the Macross songs and music.

Not sure about the later songs and music from Frontier and onwards, tho...

 

 

[Chronocidal]

As far as licensing on SDFM/DYRL merchandise goes, that's my biggest concern, that HG still holds the keys to that particular castle in the US.  I'm absolutely loving the idea that I'll be able to get stuff from the other series, and anything new going forward, but HG still keeping its fingers in the original is not ideal.

However... I don't know how likely it is, but the idea that HG and BW are now cooperating on some level going forward gives me some hope that HG will also be making the effort to attract existing manufacturers who are currently selling viable Macross merchandise with offers to expand their markets.

The idea of BW and HG having a solid contract agreement makes me think that some of the old complications with bringing Macross merchandise to the US will be resolved in a general sense.  I was under the impression that if, for example, Arcadia partnered with HG to try and sell their VF-1s in the US, BW would have countered by pulling their Macross license in Japan.

Maybe a legal pipe dream, because I don't know the specifics of their new deal, but I'm getting the impression that now it might be permissible for Arcadia to make Robotech-branded versions of their VF-1s to sell in the US.  Big West officially acknowledging HG's stake in the property would run contrary to limiting Japanese licensees from working with them, since they all stand to benefit.  Again though, that may be a big assumption on my part, and I don't know if Japanese businesses would still be discouraged from making those sorts of partnerships.

Far as the music is concerned.. I'm not expecting anything from Macross 7, because I think that's a licensing trainwreck that will never be resolved for an international market.  Macross Plus might be tricky, but at least it's a single artist to negotiate with (I think), who already has a history of international distribution.  As far as Frontier and anything beyond that is concerned, I think that's recent enough that the licensing maze should (hopefully) be far simpler to navigate.

[jvmacross]

Once the euphoria settles down...if a non-Japanese company still cannot get a BW license for a Macross product...it will still mean we will be at the whims of Bandai to give us only the Macross toys and collectibles they feel fit to give us....there are no Japanese companies providing diecast VF's...no Japanese company champing at the bit to give us Macross action figures.....no Japanese company, it seems, is willing to produce anything but "safe bets" or more importantly merch tied to the latest Macross series...

I hope this "new deal" does not snuff out the likes of KC or KL....in my opinion, whether you collect them or not, these two companies have been coming out with some of the most interesting and unique "Macross" products in recent years....at minimum, I hope they are able to expand their lines to include DYRL, if BW indeed continues to shutout non-Japanese vendors...

[JB0]

46 minutes ago, kajnrig said:

So... HG can't make derivative works based on SDFM/DYRL.

BW can... but BW can't distribute that stuff - if it contains characters and/or mecha designs from SDFM/DYRL - outside Japan without contending with HG's trademark claims, which 1) previously, they were doing so (in the EU, and before/concurrent to that in China) by way of lawsuit claiming original use; and 2) now, by way of some sort of... sublicensing agreement with HG?

Is that about right? All this secondhand legal mumbo-jumbo is as mind-boggling to me as it ever was. I need to see whatever agreement(s) they signed.

My understanding about the trademark lawsuits is thus:

0: Around the turn of the century, HG starts telling everyone they need to quit bringing Macross merchandise out of Japan because HG actually owns all of Macross and there's no way out without paying them. In spite of Macross II and Macross Plus already being distributed internationally without HG's approval, and Mac Plus toys sitting on shelves across America. This is probably due to plans to bring the original Yamato 1/60 VF-1s to America, which are much nicer than Toynami's Masterpieces.

0.5: Big West is furious about this and adopts a "don't negotiate with terrorists" approach to HG. Any Big West licensee that pays money to HG sees their licenses cancelled, and any manufacturer that does business with HG gets blacklisted from ever doing business with Big West.

1: HG, upon realizing their opponent has a spine and they can't ACTUALLY force Big West to just give them all the Macrosses by saying "we own this, so give it to us", files a bunch of trademarks on everything tangentally-related to Macross everywhere outside Japan explicitly to prevent Big West selling any Macross. HG still doesn't own the copyright to anything or even any distribution rights, but they own trademarks on the word Macross and the UN Spacey logo and a bunch of other important terms and images. Big West is effectively locked out of the international market unless they negotiate with HG. (This is the point where HG starts putting the words "Macross Saga" prominently on their merchandise, to give the appearance of actually using these trademarks for legitimate business purposes.)

 

2: Big West, upon realizing most countries' trademark law contains provisions for overseas creators to take of maliciously-registered trademarks, filed complaints and got all the trademarks confiscated from HG and assigned to Big West. Now the shoe's on the other foot as those obstructionist trademarks prevent HG from selling anything Macross-related outside the US(including the first half of Robotech), because Big West has trademarks on the word Macross and the UN Spacey logo and a bunch of other important terms and images

 

3: HG, upon realizing that US trademark law does NOT work this way and very much favors the applicant, stonewalls Big West. They can do whatever the heck they want everywhere else(except sell SDF Macross merchandise due to the Tatsunoko agreement), but HG has the US market completely locked down. It is the only weapon HG has, but it is a fairly big one.

 

3.5: I believe Big West was waiting for the license agreement to run out so they could swoop in and take over. This probably seemed a fair bet, as HG and Tatsunoko were on fairly bad terms. But that didn't work out, and Tatsunoko renewed the license agreement for international distribution of SDF Macross and related merchandise.

3.9: Oh, hey, there's a plague. That's pretty much affected every industry on Earth, including the ones HG and Big West are involved in. I believe both companies suddenly started looking at red ink on their balance sheets and became a lot less interested in stonewalling.

 

4: That brings us to today, where Big West and HG have sat down and negotiated a ceasefire.

[davidwhangchoi]

i need a DX at my local Target and walmart

[Roy Focker]

36 minutes ago, JB0 said:

3.9: Oh, hey, there's a plague. That's pretty much affected every industry on Earth, including the ones HG and Big West are involved in. I believe both companies suddenly started looking at red ink on their balance sheets and became a lot less interested in stonewalling.

That's what I suggested.  Business in 2020 couldn't have been that great for either.  HG has just been collecting licensing fees.  Judging of the size companies paying them I don't think HG is charging top dollar.  Meanwhile in Japan they're still milking Delta for all that it's worth.  Delta came out 5 years ago.  By now they should be making a new series with a new cast of characters and setting.  I don't think they want to risk spend money on all new production that will have to win over the fans.  Give them a chance to pursue fans outside of Japan and maybe they can raise the funds. 

I'd like to know the exact nature of this deal.  Business in 2020 couldn't have been that good for HG.  Can they make money from their theater when large gatherings aren't allowed?  When was the last time they made a movie or series?  How many people haven't been paying their rent?  How much have they've been paying their lawyers?  Making a deal with BW for whatever they offer you is better than making peanuts off of a dead property.

 

[505thAirborne]

41 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

i need a DX at my local Target and walmart

This! 

[Nied]

5 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

And the reason they have to cooperate?  Big West owns a lot of the trademarks that used to belong to Harmony Gold, so HG now needs Big West's permission to use certain terms, logos, etc. in most key markets.

So IF Harmony Gold ever makes anything Robotech again they'll be cooperating with Big West on distribution out of legal necessity.

So HG will never make future Robotech works featuring elements from Macross but the reason they'll partner with BW for future Robotech works is because they will feature elements from Macross?

[jenius]

These types of things seldom happen quickly. I wouldn't be at all surprised if these conversations have been ongoing for a while, perhaps even pre-dating COVID and then accelerating. The suits in Japan may have even been the starting point with the Tatsunoko contract extension only happening because this was in the works and would allow all parties to have a cohesive plan forward. Everyone at HG that really had a dog in the fight is retired or dead and the kids are just cleaning up to try to keep a revenue stream going. 

[JB0]

30 minutes ago, Nied said:

So HG will never make future Robotech works featuring elements from Macross but the reason they'll partner with BW for future Robotech works is because they will feature elements from Macross?

If they want to distribute CURRENT Robotech works featuring elements from Macross outside America, they have to partner with Big West.  They're over a barrel there.

 

Future Robotech "works" is a flexible concept. They can't make more animation featuring SDF Macross elements, but comic books are still fair game. Though perhaps one they might be hesitant about, given their licensees' propensity for lifting things from OTHER Macross works and adapting them into Robotech.

[JetJockey]

With Robotech the only thing I care about is getting a final HD release. I don't really want to see a Robotech series continue. That was fine for its day. I'm one of the few here that actually likes Robotech. Still have a poster on my wall. But I didn't like The Sentinels short that much. I have all the normal series and Sentinel books which I'll re-read one day. Sold off whatever comics I did have. I would still like to see Robotech statues and figures from Southern Cross and Mospeada. Since that doesn't seem to have much interest in Japan. Although Mospeada is picking up in recent years.

Let's see what we get over here now. What series deluxe releases or other stuff that we won't have to import, watch online, or even get as a bootleg.

Edited April 10, 2021 by JetJockey

[Invid99]

A bit off-subject, but let's say if Sony do went through with live adaptation of Macross. Using the same theme and plot with the alien ship crash lands on Earth and they get attacked by a powerful giant humanoid alien race. But they do not call it Robotech nor Macross, but something entirely new with different character names. It will basically be almost the same as SDFM with expected liberty of changes. But the core story stays the same. Would a cgi-fest movie with giant mechs fighting other alien mechs, and a love story inserted be appealing for the mainstream audience? Didn't the audience liked the first Transformers movies a indication that this idea would sell to the public? Transformers Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction made one billion dollars. The first one made 750 million and the second 900 million. So there is a profitable market out there for giant mechs?

Edited April 10, 2021 by Invid99

[Falcon]

46 minutes ago, Invid99 said:

A bit off-subject, but let's say if Sony do went through with live adaptation of Macross. Using the same theme and plot with the alien ship crash lands on Earth and they get attacked by a powerful giant humanoid alien race. But they do not call it Robotech nor Macross, but something entirely new with different character names. It will basically be almost the same as SDFM with expected liberty of changes. But the core story stays the same. Would a cgi-fest movie with giant mechs fighting other alien mechs, and a love story inserted be appealing for the mainstream audience? Didn't the audience liked the first Transformers movies a indication that this idea would sell to the public? Transformers Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction made one billion dollars. The first one made 750 million and the second 900 million. So there is a profitable market out there for giant mechs?

Possible but I feel that ship has sailed. Transformers is also a larger IP than Macross and Robotech combined which allowed that market to bloom the way it did. Not sure the familiarity will be there in markets like China in the same way it was for Transformers. Seeing as China for the most part was the reason for the amounts listed, I'm not sure that type of success is likely.

[Einherjar]

7 hours ago, JB0 said:

Future Robotech "works" is a flexible concept. They can't make more animation featuring SDF Macross elements, but comic books are still fair game. Though perhaps one they might be hesitant about, given their licensees' propensity for lifting things from OTHER Macross works and adapting them into Robotech.

They probably need a new reboot right off the bat just to undo the hot mess Remix left the Robotech universe.

[Mommar]

1 hour ago, Invid99 said:

A bit off-subject, but let's say if Sony do went through with live adaptation of Macross. Using the same theme and plot with the alien ship crash lands on Earth and they get attacked by a powerful giant humanoid alien race. But they do not call it Robotech nor Macross, but something entirely new with different character names. It will basically be almost the same as SDFM with expected liberty of changes. But the core story stays the same. Would a cgi-fest movie with giant mechs fighting other alien mechs, and a love story inserted be appealing for the mainstream audience? Didn't the audience liked the first Transformers movies a indication that this idea would sell to the public? Transformers Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction made one billion dollars. The first one made 750 million and the second 900 million. So there is a profitable market out there for giant mechs?

No, it wouldn’t.  Transformers made money because it was called Transformers starring Optimus Prime.  Generic mech movie 12 is not a similar draw in any way.

[Invid99]

20 minutes ago, Falcon said:

Possible but I feel that ship has sailed. Transformers is also a larger IP than Macross and Robotech combined which allowed that market to bloom the way it did. Not sure the familiarity will be there in markets like China in the same way it was for Transformers. Seeing as China for the most part was the reason for the amounts listed, I'm not sure that type of success is likely.

But seeing now how well Godzilla vs Kong is doing in China despite the pandemic era, shouldn't they just give it a try? 

[Falcon]

1 hour ago, Invid99 said:

But seeing now how well Godzilla vs Kong is doing in China despite the pandemic era, shouldn't they just give it a try? 

You've presented a false equivalency as an argument. An IP that is kaiju is not going to be the same base for a mecha (and in the eyes of many, a generic one at that). Based on your theory, a famous horror movie like The Blair Witch Project did well so it would be safe to bet any horror movie will also work. I think you can see where I'm going with this. In your very argument, you've also highlighted why they are less likely to give it a try- it's still a "pandemic era" so there's less money going around to invest. Why invest in something that is in no way shape or form a sure thing? There are probably many other more statistically successful projects out there than your suggestion.

[Seto Kaiba]

15 hours ago, TMBounty_Hunter said:

So BW own the shows, characters, designs, etc, but do they own the songs? Do they partner with Flying Dog to distribute the songs or does Flying Dog own the songs?

I believe Big West owns the songs themselves but it's all exclusively distributed through Victor's FlyingDog.

 

15 hours ago, TMBounty_Hunter said:

Is this deal gonna unblock Fukuyama Fire on spotify outside Japan and lead to more Macross being added there?

As a direct consequence?  No.  Indirectly?  Yes, it very well could.  I'm not sure if it's on Spotify to ask for the rights to expand the music's distribution or on Big West and FlyingDog to make it clear it's available now.

 

14 hours ago, Gerli said:

If Small manufacturers are like this guy, I don't think there is gonna be nice things in the future...

Yeah, but if there's a small manufacturer that has comeuppance coming it's certainly that one.

 

13 hours ago, kajnrig said:

So... HG can't make derivative works based on SDFM/DYRL.

BW can... but BW can't distribute that stuff - if it contains characters and/or mecha designs from SDFM/DYRL - outside Japan without contending with HG's trademark claims, which 1) previously, they were doing so (in the EU, and before/concurrent to that in China) by way of lawsuit claiming original use; and 2) now, by way of some sort of... sublicensing agreement with HG?

Is that about right? All this secondhand legal mumbo-jumbo is as mind-boggling to me as it ever was. I need to see whatever agreement(s) they signed.

So, all in all, Big West can freely use anything from any Macross story in new motion picture works (TV, movie, etc.) because they own the copyrights.  They don't have to worry about HG's trademark claims in any key markets except the US now that they've effectively overturned HG's trademarks everywhere else that matters.  Now that HG is onboard, there are no real obstacles.  HG just gets a little piece of the action in exchange for rubber-stamping whatever Big West wants to distribute in the US.

 

12 hours ago, JB0 said:

My understanding about the trademark lawsuits is thus:

0: Around the turn of the century, HG starts telling everyone they need to quit bringing Macross merchandise out of Japan because HG actually owns all of Macross and there's no way out without paying them. In spite of Macross II and Macross Plus already being distributed internationally without HG's approval, and Mac Plus toys sitting on shelves across America. This is probably due to plans to bring the original Yamato 1/60 VF-1s to America, which are much nicer than Toynami's Masterpieces.

0.5: Big West is furious about this and adopts a "don't negotiate with terrorists" approach to HG. Any Big West licensee that pays money to HG sees their licenses cancelled, and any manufacturer that does business with HG gets blacklisted from ever doing business with Big West.

1: HG, upon realizing their opponent has a spine and they can't ACTUALLY force Big West to just give them all the Macrosses by saying "we own this, so give it to us", files a bunch of trademarks on everything tangentally-related to Macross everywhere outside Japan explicitly to prevent Big West selling any Macross. HG still doesn't own the copyright to anything or even any distribution rights, but they own trademarks on the word Macross and the UN Spacey logo and a bunch of other important terms and images. Big West is effectively locked out of the international market unless they negotiate with HG. (This is the point where HG starts putting the words "Macross Saga" prominently on their merchandise, to give the appearance of actually using these trademarks for legitimate business purposes.)

Mostly... Harmony Gold actually began applying for trademarks in some areas around the same time they began sending cease and desists to import toy dealers.  Their UK filing was made in 1999, two years before their US filing.

 

12 hours ago, JB0 said:

3.9: Oh, hey, there's a plague. That's pretty much affected every industry on Earth, including the ones HG and Big West are involved in. I believe both companies suddenly started looking at red ink on their balance sheets and became a lot less interested in stonewalling.

TBH, I'm not sure the coronavirus thing had any significant role to play in it from Big West's end since Japan wasn't hit nearly as hard (thanks to its culturally-ingrained tendency to wear masks when ill or potentially ill).  Harmony Gold probably also wasn't too heavily impacted by it because their audience is tiny and they have nothing going for them outside of print-on-demand home video and streaming.  Nothing of theirs required leaving the house.

 

 

10 hours ago, Nied said:

So HG will never make future Robotech works featuring elements from Macross but the reason they'll partner with BW for future Robotech works is because they will feature elements from Macross?

Harmony Gold has never made original Robotech works featuring elements from Macross for copyright reasons, and won't do so in the future either.

The reason Harmony Gold had no choice but to partner with Big West is that Big West now owns the trademarks on the Macross name, logos, key art, etc. in markets outside of the United States.  Harmony Gold used to own those trademarks themselves, and had used them to prevent Macross's sequels from being distributed outside of Japan.  Armed with the trademarks they successfully overturned and took possession of over the last four years, Big West has the legal power to block distribution of the Robotech TV series from most international markets via its "Macross Saga" and to block distribution of the almost exclusively Macross-based Robotech merchandise lines in those markets.  That's pretty much the entirety of Robotech's income cut off in one fell swoop.

Harmony Gold was left with two options:

1. Reach some kind of mutually acceptable accommodation with Big West.
   OR
2. Let Robotech's slow decline continue to accelerate towards its terminal conclusion.

And they chose Option 1.

 

 

1 hour ago, Einherjar said:

They probably need a new reboot right off the bat just to undo the hot mess Remix left the Robotech universe.

Nah, they'll just say Remix is non-canon like they did to almost all of the other comics.

[kajnrig]

Did BW take back the trademarks in the EU, though? IIRC, they sued, a judge initially ruled in their favor, HG appealed, and then both parties moved to... suspend the case? drop the appeal?

If they (HG and BW together) have simply filed to suspend, presumably there will have to be some follow-up motions in the near future to either resume or drop the appeal?

If they've (HG mainly, though in cooperation with BW) dropped the appeal, the last declaratory action (ie the judge's ruling) would put the trademarks in BW's hands?

Was the initial ruling put on hold at all pending the appeal process? If so, and if the appeal is still technically in progress, that would mean the trademarks were/are still currently in HG's hands...? Or perhaps the court put an injunction barring either company from making use of the trademark pending the court ruling, and if the appeals court put the judge's decision on hold, that would put the trademarks currently in a legal no-man's land.

Or maybe I'm overthinking all of this.

[Nied]

14 hours ago, JB0 said:

If they want to distribute CURRENT Robotech works featuring elements from Macross outside America, they have to partner with Big West.  They're over a barrel there.

 

Future Robotech "works" is a flexible concept. They can't make more animation featuring SDF Macross elements, but comic books are still fair game. Though perhaps one they might be hesitant about, given their licensees' propensity for lifting things from OTHER Macross works and adapting them into Robotech.

The Press release explicitly talks about HG and BW partnering on FUTURE Robotech and Macross works. I seriously doubt that's going to just be comics as HG's been in the clear on promotional materials like that as part of their original license with Tatsunoko.

[Einherjar]

5 minutes ago, Nied said:

The Press release explicitly talks about HG and BW partnering on FUTURE Robotech and Macross works. I seriously doubt that's going to just be comics as HG's been in the clear on promotional materials like that as part of their original license with Tatsunoko.

 

Then they better haul a$$ then.  The last few years haven’t been good for Robotech.

[Keith]

5 minutes ago, Nied said:

The Press release explicitly talks about HG and BW partnering on FUTURE Robotech and Macross works. I seriously doubt that's going to just be comics as HG's been in the clear on promotional materials like that as part of their original license with Tatsunoko.

This will most likely come down to what movie Sony truly wants to make. If Sony wants to make a "Robotech" movie, then at some point new animations may go into production. If Sony went through the trouble of resolving a nearly 30 legal shitfest to make the "Macross" movie they thought they bought in the first place, Robotech may finally "officially" put to bed & quietly phased out while everyone cashes in on the Macross train.

My 2 cents? I suspect Funi is in the works to dub Frontier & get it a Toonami broadcast, but time will tell.

[Nied]

3 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

The reason Harmony Gold had no choice but to partner with Big West is that Big West now owns the trademarks on the Macross name, logos, key art, etc. in markets outside of the United States.  Harmony Gold used to own those trademarks themselves, and had used them to prevent Macross's sequels from being distributed outside of Japan.  Armed with the trademarks they successfully overturned and took possession of over the last four years, Big West has the legal power to block distribution of the Robotech TV series from most international markets via its "Macross Saga" and to block distribution of the almost exclusively Macross-based Robotech merchandise lines in those markets.  That's pretty much the entirety of Robotech's income cut off in one fell swoop.

Unless this contract has a clause inverting the time-space continuum it'd be pretty odd to talk about past Robotech and Macross projects as future ones.