ha, i saw this happend after the first time i saw the prototype of the masterpiece coneheads of igear. i gear is the most important puzzlepart here i feel that!

 

Well, in iGear's case, don't they sell directly anyway? Sure, sometimes other retailers carry certain product (accessories yes, full figures no, with the exception of Bee), but in cases like this where retailers are pressured, you also have the option of buying directly. More 3rd party manufacturers may start going this route.

I think it's good in the long run that you can order directly, because then you can cut out the middle-men (other retailers) that charge a mark-up. Either way, 3rd party product will still be available, just not through the usual sources.

 

So how closely connected are TakaraTomy and Hasbro? What are the odds this legal stance extends across the Pacific?

 

i have lost all faith in has/tak, i hoped they would allow 3rd parties to continue so to make the fans happy with stuff that has/tak doesnt want to do for us. i mean they do a very poor job of giving us what we want the ways we want it and sometimes its just not cost affective for them but thats why they should allow 3rd parties to pick up the slack so to speak. not to mention many sets most common ex. the rotf bruticus set would have been total shelf warmers if it wasnt for third party companies. i dont want to argue with anyone just expressing my disappointment in has/tak and will do everything i can so as to not put another dollar in their pocket on GP

 

But that makes no sense.

If a product is not financially viable for Hasbro/TakaraTomy and they don't make it. Doesn't mean another company can/should go and make a product that infringes on Hasbro's Intellectual Property/Trademarks. Just because a select small group of fans want toys, does not make it right for a 3rd party company to break the law and make them.

I'm glad to see a crackdown on this. Igear have really screwed this up for people. I'm all for upgrade kits to models, as they upgrades to Hasbro/Takara toys. But the moment you start making carbon copies of Hasbro/Takara toys, or building molds of exact likeness to them, then yes, Hasbro and TakaraTomy can, and should, take action against this.

Hasbro lately have done an extraordinary job of releasing toys of character we'd never normally get to see on shelves (see RtS Perceptor, Wrecker, Generations Wheeljack etc). I cannot understand that after all this catering to a minority of their sales market, fans STILL complain the moment they don't get what they want, exactly how they want.

 

Looks like the hammer finally came down. I can't obviously blame Takara for doing this, they are allowed to, but it still sucks. Sadly the only company worth coming down on is Igear in my opinion, but I can see where Takara's coming from with character licensing. I pray that most of these good companies remain in business and that they can continue suppling their products elsewhere.

 

Didnt they kick encline out of canada for doing customs?

 

I remember him saying that was the Canadian Customs that did it. I'm sure he can clarify.

 

yeh that definently gave him some super cool points as a customizer  

 

This really sucks for Japanese fans and I can see it affecting us down the road as well possibly but in the grand scheme of things.... People will get what they want when they want it, just not for the price that they want to pay.

 

Ouch. Most not cool. I would expect this to happen to us as well as third party is use of trademarks that non-Has Tak does not own. That would be intellectual property infringement.

Glad I got my Protector when I did.

 

Well if they want to do that, then Hasbro/Takara get off your asses and make the figure we want and make it right the first time!!!

Seems similar to Microsoft trying to squeeze out Gamestop....

 

This sucks for the Japanese fans that are using 3rd party to fill in the missing pieces on classics and masterpiece lines. Even if Hasbro does come out with something like this I will still buy I-gear, FP and TFC products.

 

I'm gonna blame this on IGear. The coneheads are total ripoffs of the Masterpiece Seeker mold. Yeah they got subtle differences, but when you stick a Not-Thrust next to Masterpiece Screams, it's totally obvious. The fact is that the damned B-Team seekers are about 85% the same mold as the Has/Tak masterpiece mold. Some may argue that the IGear mold is not a Has/Tak mold plain and simple, but if you make a plug and mold from someone else's finished toy, then you straight up stole it if you didn't pay them for the rights to their product. Japan's commerce laws are pretty much copied from ours after we reset their culture in WWII.

Is it cool for us fans? Hell no! But If I spent all the 100+ hours making a mold set I would be pretty pissed if someone else started selling my mold as their own. So say what you like, but IGear was being really punkass with the seekers. It is actually fair to make them stop profiting from Has/Tak's work.

 

TakTomy and Hasbro make me laugh! If they don't like the fans getting what they want from other places, maybe they should produce it instead?



Seems they want to have their cake and eat it too.

 

How come no one's mentioned the iGear Optimus Primes yet? If the seekers are 85% copies, those are 100% right?

And please, all you people who argue that it's okay for 3rd parties to break the law because the fans "want it" aren't making sense at all.

 

The Coneheads MPS don't exist in any HAS/TAK world, so the can't be KOs imo,

 

Yep the Optimus Prime heads are indeed ripoffs as well, not 100% but a solid 95%.

Quite simply Optimus Prime belongs to Has/Tak, not IGear. The cones are all straight up versions of Has/Tak trademarked products. IGear doesn't have a leg to stand on. They make products based on or for existing Transformers.

Unless you are Has/Tak, you don't have any rights to build their trademarked products.

And yes I agree, the third parties are breaking many international copyright laws. They get away with it by manufacturing in China, where they have very different laws concerning copyrights and knock-offs. But manufacturing and distribution are two completely different things.

 

I can see a few reasons this is happening:

Takara truely believes nothing they put out is a shelf warmer. Therefore when they find items just sitting unsold like tuner mudflap, then turn and see an I sane demand for things like munitioner/explorer they get mad.

Next: The newest addition to the MP line was supposed to be the coneheads. Hence the reason MP-01L did not give the secret away as rumored to what the next MP would be.

Then: The Japanese economy has to be taking a hard hit with the natural disaster last month, so government, small, and large businesses are coming up with plans of additional revenue builders. I'm sure accompanied with these letters are details of various fines associated with selling 3rd party products. How government falls in? Not saying they have there hand on the 3rd party thing as well, but I'm sure there have been other areas in everyday life the government has affected since the "event" that comes in the form of money.

Lastly: Damn you iGear!

 

tarZen was talking about the actual Prime toys iGear produces, not just the heads: they also create smaller versions of the Prime Masterpiece mold.  

I'm happy most people in this thread are sane and understand/accept TakaraTomy is doing this, even if some of us actually like some/most 3rd party product.

On the other hand, I'm sad by the couple of people (granted, only 2 or 3 so far  ) who use this as an excuse to make another bullshit attack on Hasbro/TT. The typical crybabies that are apparently fine with people stealing intellectual property for their own gain - just so you can get that one missing character for your manchild toy collection. It's quite pathetic.

Yes, Hasbro hates you and is doing everything it can to make sure you will never get your hands on a MP Thrust.  

Guess what, genius? It is Hasbro's cake. Just because Hasbro is a global corporation doesn't suddenly turn third parties that take Hasbro's IPs into Robin Hoods. It's a gray area at best and theft at worst.