The Energon Pub

OneConArmy wrote:I'd rather have this Trilogy line than the Prime line. Truth is, Hasbro should just put all of their Transformers under 1 line, so we could actually get characters we need/want, instead of having to hope that they don't get cancelled*coughSoundwaveQueLeadfootMirage(?)alloftheseonescough*

I've often wondered, "Where is TakaraToyShop.com?" Why are there never Japanese stuff on HTS.com? or Even TRU.com? Sucks.

GetRightRobot wrote:

OneConArmy wrote:I'd rather have this Trilogy line than the Prime line. Truth is, Hasbro should just put all of their Transformers under 1 line, so we could actually get characters we need/want, instead of having to hope that they don't get cancelled*coughSoundwaveQueLeadfootMirage(?)alloftheseonescough*

I've often wondered, "Where is TakaraToyShop.com?" Why are there never Japanese stuff on HTS.com? or Even TRU.com? Sucks.

I've often wondered why TRU doesn't have a import toy aisle.
Even if they put them behind glass or used the ticket system the video games use
they have a lost opportunity and the business model is becoming antiquated.
They could also make a big hit in striking deals to offer 3rd party products in house. Not the knock offs, Hercules is based on Dev but the design and components are totally new. Everyone involved could make much more money.

GetRightRobot wrote:

OneConArmy wrote:I'd rather have this Trilogy line than the Prime line. Truth is, Hasbro should just put all of their Transformers under 1 line, so we could actually get characters we need/want, instead of having to hope that they don't get cancelled*coughSoundwaveQueLeadfootMirage(?)alloftheseonescough*

I've often wondered, "Where is TakaraToyShop.com?" Why are there never Japanese stuff on HTS.com? or Even TRU.com? Sucks.

Hasbro did offer Takara figures during Beast Wars online at one point, but that went bust. Besides, those new Asia-exclusive figure are still Hasbro, so chances are they'll be available on HTS later, with a premium of course. Same thing happened with the Universe Special Editions.
Speaking of which, wouldn't it be funny if they, like their SE predecessors, ended up in liquidator stores?

And Toys 'R Us is stocking a Japanese piece of merchandise if you must know: S.H. Figuarts Shinken Red for Power Rangers Samurai, unchanged.

So how much you wanna bet that the character list here is at least fractionally motivated by legal considerations, specifically to enhance efforts to go after third party products manufactured by Chinese companies that Hasbro views as infringing their IP (or at least to give that impression)?

It's a lot easier to try to prove something is a "knockoff" if they presently actually sell something that they can claim it's a "knockoff" of....

metaphorge wrote:So how much you wanna bet that the character list here is at least fractionally motivated by legal considerations, specifically to enhance efforts to go after third party products manufactured by Chinese companies that Hasbro views as infringing their IP?

It's a lot easier to try to prove something is a "knockoff" if they presently actually sell something that they can claim it's a "knockoff" of....

Sorry, but no. The law is a very fickle, ambiguous yet precise thing. In the eyes of the court, the best thing Hasbro can sue them for is "stealing and adapting designs", even that doesn't hold water because there's so little of the original thing to be found in the new, right down to the names used. If the design choices can be ruled as generic, then your case is as good as gone.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:The law is a very fickle, ambiguous yet precise thing. In the eyes of the court, the best thing Hasbro can sue them for is "stealing and adapting designs", even that doesn't hold water because there's so little of the original thing to be found in the new, right down to the names used. If the design choices can be ruled as generic, then your case is as good as gone.

I didn't say that I thought Hasbro would legitimately have a case, or that it would work, just that this seems like a partial motivating factor, given the contents of the list (Wheelie from Jazz. Really?).

I'm not familiar enough with the specifics of Chinese IP law to determine whether this would work in a Chinese court or not; to be fair, Hasbro wouldn't have to win, just have enough of a leg to stand on to bankrupt defendants through legal fee attrition.