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Old 2004-02-23, 23:44   Link #7
BOZZY
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Wow this is quite the informative thread... I never really understood the whole legal proceedings clearly until I read all this...

Too bad about the North American toy rights... I definetly want to get the VF fighter that Roy Fokker and Shin use in Macross Zero...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Radd
As found at http://www.robotech.com News of Macross 'DYRL?' merchandise from Harmony Gold:



Tommy Yun's response, when questioned as to how this is possible was:



When asked if the rights had been granted by Big West, or if acquired through whatever party currently holds the distribution license for DYRL? his reply was:





Now, as you may know the rights to DYRL? and other Macross derivatives are not so clear, though all Tokyo Court rulings point to Tatsunoko/Harmony Gold owning merchandising and distribution rights to the tv series, but nothing else. It is possible that Harmony Gold and Big West have made some sort of deal. It is also possible that Harmony Gold acquired the license through questionable means, or is simply riding their previous statement that they own all things Macross outside of Japan, and are using this to push Big West into a legal situation, in the hopes of resolving the matter once and for all.

This could be very good, or very bad news for us Macross fans. Harmony Gold has been blocking all attempts to license Macross merchandise and derivatives since about 2000. Many Macross fans are not happy with Harmony Gold's treatment of the franchise, though the ability to buy legit copies of many Macross sequels, including the new prequel OVA 'Macross Zero', in addition to the Japanese toys produced by Bandai and Yamato, could win many over...if Harmony Gold pursued such an idea.

Still, until the legal wrangling, many fans will probably harbour sour feelings toward Harmony Gold until it's proven beyond any doubt that Big West did give Tatsunoko/Harmony Gold rights to Macross sequels back in the original contract for the production of the tv series.

At this point it's still impossible to tell what the situation is, I guess we'll have to wait until July for any sort of answer.
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