Midnight_Fox wrote:Yes, actually. This is a very common sort of case in the field. People have sued over less than just boosters on a jet. Shoulder pads on a 1 inch tall model is one that comes to mind, being that the case just resolved a couple months ago(Games Workshop v Chapterhouse Studios, look it up with you want a lawsuit infinitely more asinine than this for some perspective).
Most IP lawsuits settle out of court and are never heard of. It's in fact very rare for a case like this to ever see the inside of a court room and it usually takes 2-3 years if it actually does.
I think your goal is to be informative and/or show off your highly respectable knowledge on this subject matter - because you missed the point of my post entirely.
I KNOW this won't go to court - THAT'S WHY IT'S BULLYING. Is it bullying to threaten a lawsuit that has little or no merit, just because you realize that the defending company will settle before seeing the trial go to court? YES. YES, IT IS.
I appreciate the example you provided, but you could just agree and say this isn't the worse case of bullying (of which I never doubted to begin with). The lawsuits are out of control, so the people should be a little irritated when this garbage not only financially harms a company we have a vested interest in, but also wastes billions of dollars in legal fees, legal protection, and court proceedings.
datguy86 wrote:Actually, this could damage Harmony Gold if Hasbro wins - if only because it would lessen Harmony Gold's influence.
See Midnight Fox's postings above: this case would NEVER, EVER go to court. That's not how lawsuits work. To put it simply: when you face a lawsuit, you calculate how much it would cost you (in legal fees) to win the lawsuit - this is your settlement number. This is because even if you have this money to spend on legal fees to win, you have absolutely no guarantee of winning. Ergo, rather than risk losing the case (legal fees for defense + cost of punitive damages, etc. handed down by court), Hasbro will settle the matter, out-of-court, with a check to Harmony Gold. Hence, how lawsuits can be a form of bullying.
Well, unless Hasbro had the kind of legal clout that could get this case thrown out automatically.
Seibertron wrote:Gauntlet101010 wrote:Why this and not Classics Jetfire?
From what I've been told by someone at Harmony Gold, apparently Hasbro has asked for usage of its likeness in the past (i.e. Classics Jetfire) and was told that was OK. Apparently they didn't ask this time around.
Great info, Seibertron! Thanks!
The question is whether or not Hasbro will ask next time. I still get the feeling that this case will just make Jetfire "too hot" for any more molds or reproductions - ergo, this lawsuit (IMO) will most likely harm the Jetfire toyline, and TF's as a whole.
I'm pretty annoyed with the shifting name changes (
Shrapnel? SHARPSHOT!
Bumblebee? HOTSHOT!
Shockwave? SHOCKBLAST!) - it's unbelievable how TF's find themselves mired in a legal swamp like this. I don't know whether I should be mad at my lawsuit-drunk country, or Hasbro for being so obsessed with copyrighting everything.