Likeness is part of intellectual property, especially when the company creates 3P figures specifically intended to look like characters from another company's IP. EM-01 Mugan Scope doesn't "accidentally" look like IDW Perceptor. He's specifically designed to copy the likeness.

 

It also requires these products to be made and sold in the U.S.

Chinese manufacturing, and internet stores make it much harder for Hasbro to chase them down.

But if they could have easily? They would have.

Only thing Hasbro can do is put out competing products. Why do you think we've got combiner wars happening right now???

 

Now that I think about it I'm actually looking forward to see if anything bizarre happens or rumors of some shady dealings going on hehe.

 

I think its because the new team is G1 and this whole 80s retro thing going on with movies. TF5 might even be more G1

 

No he's right.
Years ago Hasbro was able to produce figures he accurately shows are perfection, Now years later Hasbro sells those same toys with a $5 markup and lesser amount of materials. This has absolutely no origin relating to fictional socio-economic factors such as inflation, a global economic recession or the changes in material costs. It's because Hasbro hates us and wants to make worse toys. That's why we keep getting Combiners and Fembots and G1 characters and straight out of the comic adaptations.....because no one wants those.

what I'm looking forward to..I've a friend in Law school, doing rather well, she's taking 'IP LAW' this semester, I'm planning to pick her brain on the topic in a few weeks,

 

At this rate, after 30+ more pages or so of this thread, the point will be skewed to "Transformers banned from Transformers convention for infringing upon themselves" or something equally silly.

 

Exzust a mp who had the brakes slammed on himself by phillip morris.

I use this exzample because hasbro can easily do this to all 3rd party items

 

Okay, but does Hasbro have to file some sort of patent or trademark for each and every one of it's zillion robots in the TF Mythos, or are they just automatically protected in perpetuity no matter how obscure the character?

 

You'll most likely keep waiting then.

I can probably say that with 90% probability the following will be the case. Pete can confirm or deny if he is able to:

Add-on accessories like weapons and combiner hands - most likely safe.

Replacement heads of original design. - same.

Replacement heads that clearly resemble a specific character - iffy but probably safe.

Accessories that complement official product but are designed as upgrades into specific characters (ie: City Commander, Protector) - doubtful. Skating the edge here.

Fully-transformable robots that strongly resemble existing Transformers characters (ie: Green Giant, Scoria, Robin, Azalea, Feral Rex, Uranos, etc.) - NO WAY.


-SS (HeadRobots based on unused concepts are slightly iffy but probably okay as they're only conceptual and not actual characters.)

 

Pretty sure we've gone over how many factors go into creating a toy when you're a large corporation selling to the general populace, and how many of those factors may have changed in as short a time as five years, but hey, maybe I'm remembering an entirely different conversation now. I'm not sure. These threads leave me wondering. Who are you? How did you get in my house?

Doesn't bother me. Doesn't bother a lot of people. I do get a contrary say on an opinion if I have a different opinion. Neither of us is right or wrong. Now stop being a potato about it.

 

For something to be IP infringing, must there be a court ruling it so? I ask because some "unlicensed" merch are specifically designed to not infringe on ip. I really have no dog in the fight either way. Just a point of clarification.

 

Exactly! Remember when:

...FansProject commissioned LSoW, reintroducing us to Defender?

...EAVI Metal commissioned the animated movie, introducing us to Citizen Stack (and killing off fan-favorite Orion, to Toyworld's dismay)?

...Iron factory ran a fan poll to design the new fan-created character, Maiden?

  No?

Has/Tak is why you care in the first place. Why would you spend that much money on a stack of construction vehicles if they didn't look like Devastator, who someone else designed first?

 

My thoughts exactly

 

It's like trying to watch FOX News, you know this questions already been answered numerous times, yet they keep asking because if you don't respond it's proof that no one has an answer

 

Hollow limbs have been around forever go check classics 1.0 starscreams legs

 

But they ARE sold in the United States. Hasbro could go after the distributors and retailers, such as they are. A simple C&D letter would go a long way.

 

That's kind of a bad example.

 

I was at toysrus today... they had motor master... i picked him up, then i thought about my ko tiger track, mmc vos.... warbotron not-onslaught, xtransbot apollyon, and fanstoys sever all coming my way


and im like who needs this junky motor master... so i dont blame hasbro for trying to just block 3p instead of competing with them.


they are loosing market share daily in my wallet. i dont think im unique in that

 

Did....Did you just seriously qoute your own post...and then applaud it?

Pete has answered. "If an exhibitor is unsure if something infringes on the IP, most likely it infringes on the IP"