Hasbro owns the IP rights to Transformers. And unlike what Disney does, and licenses out Star Wars, Hasbro will not let any other company make transforming Transformers. Flames Toys is one of the few companies outside of Hasbro that has rights to the brand, making them a third party company. What if Hasbro did that with companies like Fans Toys and Mastermind Creations.
I got this idea from @Max Rawhide on the Transform And Roll Out Cybertron Optimus Prime thread.

What if Hasbro made a deal with various companies, taking 10% of their revenue, in exchange for the ceasig of any future legal trouble, and for the rights to use the names for every character in the brands history in they still own the trademark to. Something like that.

Or in other words, they would functiom like SHF and MAFEX do for Disney and Warner.

 

They would cost even more and probably not be as good because it would completely change the dynamics of the business for those third-party companies. Their priorities, their leeway/freedom with designs and engineering, the requirements for child/materials/product safety, the speed (slowness) at which they could bring products to market after passing through all the licensing and red tape, nonexistent customer service, the change from a niche boutique product with some degree of passion to a mass-produced consumer good, etc.. It would be a very different situation and not necessarily for the better.

They do very well by not having to license the figures. It gives them the freedom to do what -they- want to do, at the speed -they- want to do it, within the budget -they- set for themselves. This can be good or bad, but it's almost always better than being subject to a giant corporation, particularly one that has shown they do not care about the consumer more than the 3P companies do (and arguably care less than 3Ps do).

 

But what of companies like SHF and MAFEX ?

 

If it ain't broke...

 

it would be interesting if hastak hired some of the designers from third party companies

 

Yeah, I think it could only make the product worse, it would only be adding restrictions and cost

 

Last thing I want is child safety laws slapped onto them and then have to pay an extra $50 to have an Autobot symbol on it

 

$₪₣ and ლAH₣€¥

 

I don’t know why a third party would pay to use their IP when they’re already using it for free. I don’t see the incentive on either side actually, I wouldn’t let someone who has been profiting from my IP pay me to use it now as I just forget about everything in the past.

 

Mayfex/Medicom makes/made transformering bears to bots, licensed:

 

I think something like this would be the closest you could get to a situation like the one being thrown out here in the article.

As far as I know (and I could be wrong because I’m pretty much going off the story from The Toys That Made Us on Netflix...I have no insider knowledge), Hasbro/ Takara are both toy/action figure companies that created and distributed the Transformers property, then grew into smaller multimedia companies (i.e., the G1 Transformers cartoon series), and (particularly) Hasbro is now a giant multimedia company on all fronts. All the while, Transformers is a property that originated as a toy line (with accompanying comics and cartoon) in house at HasTak (toy/ action figure/ high end collectible companies). I’m not even getting into all the back and forth licensing involving dialcone and microman and all that.
My main point is that Transformers is an original, in house property shared between two popular, established toy companies that get all the profit from the sales of the toys/ action figures/ high end collectibles (meaning the masterpiece line).
Disney, on the other hand, is a theme park, movie/ music/ tv/ print media entertainment company that licenses properties it owns out to multiple toy/ action figure/ high end collectible companies. They get percentages from the sales of the companies they’ve licensed to, while retaining exclusive ownership.

It stands to reason that if HasTak licenses out even just their higher end, Masterpiece-type products, even just in a small, partnership-style situation with an established third party like Fans Toys or MMC, they are losing profit from the get go. Why do that?

All that being said I think the closest this hypothetical could get to being reality would be for HasTak to buy out a third party company and utilize them for appropriate products. (Buy out Fans Toys, they’re in charge of the Masterpiece line.)

 

Conspiracy theory:

t h e y d o

 

I prefer they don't, everything Hasbro touches turn to shit...

 

It would be nice if they did... and for all we know they do.
Thing is, HASBRO has to operate under constraints that 3P doesn’t... so even the most genius and creative of minds are going to be limited by what laws allow and the budget Hasbro is willing to spend.

 

Also, Hasbro generally doesn't license 3Ps to make transforming toys, probably in part because that would make the design team look bad if someone else was able to match/outdo them.

There's been exceptions but they're very specific. Eg, the Sentinel Optimus Prime pen.

 

In this scenario, if Hastak is a benevolent overseer, the 3Ps would have to cater too much to child safety standards and all that jazz - would compromise the level of envelope-pushing they do.

If Hastak is a Java-the-Hutt overlord, the 3Ps would see it as having to pay protection money and like other mercantilistic endeavors, the incentive to produce would no longer be there and the companies would fold just as quickly as they popped up, the whole thing collapsing in on itself and leaving everything in the hands of Hastak again.

As a consumer, I appreciate this being a buyer's market with plenty of size, design, and budget options available.

I think Black Apple had the right idea, work freelance and get paid up front so that way your designs are yours no matter who releases it. Your loyalties are to yourself and you can play the field or stay where you like, even releasing your own passion projects as you please.

 

You seem to have misspelled Michael Bay  


 

 

Another consideration: How, many 3P companies would get this license, and what benefit does it get them? The market has shown that people are willing to buy 3P products that are unlicensed - will the number of units sold increase significantly if the product is licensed? I would suggest not.

So then you have one or two companies now having to pay an extra fee to make their products, for which they get no appreciable gain, and still having to compete with other companies that do not have that extra cost.

So where is the benefit to the company?

 

10% of their revenue (not profits)? Then the third party companies would cease to exist, I suspect. I think the basic mathematics here would rule out the idea right from the start.