Wow, this is a bigger disappointment than I am to my parents.

 

It's Action FORCE, not Action MAN. And Action Man was not the "grandfather" of G.I. Joe. "Action Man" started out as a licensed UK release of Hassenfeld Brothers/Hasbro's original G.I. Joe toy by UK company Palitoy.

There's no "copyright" involved. Please do not confuse "copyright" and "trademark", they are two different things. Coyprights protect the original expression of ideas, whereas trademarks protect names, logos and other markers that are used to identify goods and/or services.

Yes, the 1980s "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" toyline was released under the name "Action Force" in the UK. However:
1) I'm not sure if Hasbro ever trademarked the name in the United States at all, considering it was (to my knowledge) only used in Europe. Trademarks need to be secured and protected for each market individually. There is no such thing as automatic worldwide trademark protection.
2) Unlike copyrights that last until 70 years following the death of the creator, trademarks have a very short expiration date. You don't use it, you lose it. Very quickly. So unless Hasbro has released anything under the name "Action Force" in recent years, they have no claim to the name, and Night Shining/whoever could have secured it with no problem whatsoever.

The figures appear to be original, which seems more like "third party" territory at worst rather than outright knockoffs.

Once again: News originally broke in February.
Botcon Returns in 2021

 

Sorry, I was completely wrong.

 

the claim sale was a dumpster fire.

 

Action Force? Wasn’t that just an alternate name for GI Joe for the brits? Confused the hell outta me as a kid, since we had both in toy stores. So Hasbro is making Action Force toys under GI Joe brand again?

 

Looks like a Kamen Rider that time forgot. I’d be more interested in 3 3/4 Riders made by Bandai than BW Actionmasters made by these guys. Since they’ve announced transforming figures being made in the future I might be interested in those, but it really depends on what they make.

 

Read what I wrote literally three posts above yours.

 

Somehow reminds me of Toy Story 3 Twitch LOL

 

Pretty much how I feel. Good for those that want them, but I guess I was under the impression that it would be like the old Botcon days when we’d get an unofficial convention with some official Transformers toy exclusives. However, the reveals aren’t done so it’s still a possibility.

 

It has been. Since February. Not all news sites have been carrying the updates due to what we assume are sponsoring obligations, but you can check out all the updates here:

BotCon (Official)

And also at:

BotCon (@BotCon) on Twitter

More updates to follow at BotCon - The Official Brand | Home as well.

Thanks!

 

Do they have access to HasTak molds for redecoes? And if so- how far back? Are Combiner Wars, Titans Return and POTP on the table?

 

This is really underwhelming to me. The next few announcements better impress me more than this.

 

Getting very confused looking at Botcon events. Seemingly with official Transformers product...

 

I feel very, VERY confident that the days of unofficial, unlicensed conventions getting Hasbro-sanctioned exclusive toys are long, long dead. That was twenty years ago, and the Transformers brand is in a massively different place today. Frankly, I'm amazed anyone thought otherwise.

 

Did they reveal anything where Botcon might be? I didn’t get to watch all the video but the vibe I was getting from this is it’s gonna be Pete’s Robo Con but now called Botcon again. I’ve been enjoying the Generations Selects line. I think I could buy half the series for the price of one Botcon exclusive. So hopefully they won’t have any molds I want.

From what I know of this Action Force line is it was bringing the GI Joe experience to 6” figures. I think the first Kickstarter had trouble due to the heavy Trump influence in the story which was changed to a more red vs blue state thing. They’re honestly pretty cool for 6” Joe type figs but then Hasbro went and did a real Joe 6” line. People didn’t really like the heavy Overwatch/Fortnite style of the first wave but the newer waves have been more Classic ARAH styling which is winning over the haters slowly. I like this Swarm Troop and Sgt Slaughter but compare the blue Riot Trooper to the new Cobra Trooper and Joe beats it hands down.

 

Agreed. I think it’s very telling that Pete has said there will be “robots” and not there there will be “Transformers.”

Which I don’t mind at all. Keep the Selects coming from Hasbro and let Botcon get creative with these homages like Waspinator. It’s a breath of fresh air.

 

Yeah, that's nice! I don't care anymore.

 

Yippee, GI Joe figures as botcon exclusives. Could not want it less.

Hopefully they won't have any good exclusives so I won't have to track them down. So far, so good.

 

Just give me CW Sky Lynx as Giant Purple Griffin and we can call it good.

 

An attempt to try & recapture G.I. Joe x Transformers business perhaps with this item? A sign of things to come in the future?

Correct me but weren't g1 action masters in regards to transformers just the stripped down, carded basic cheap robots based upon the original G1 series? They had some kind of an Energon gimmick partner? Or to make it easier - transformable versions of the R.E.D. line that is now coming out in similar dimensions?

The name of the product line from 1990's? Action Master - Transformers Wiki

Makes me wonder if it is close enough to Hasbro keeping G.I. Joe alive, keeping a trademark renewed on an active copyright property, then seeing the action masters and their potential similar nature here in an active trademark renewal via the R.E.D. line & active copyright property, did they move to quash this potentially with a legal basis before the con announced it to somehow have a say on it - since it is a former employee of theirs with known information on their IP?