Rated X wrote:Communications Liaison ??? I never understood why these 3rd party companies arent scared to break a copyright by using a G1 image and mold, but are so scared to break a copyright by calling him his original G1 name ???
The mold isn't actually from G1. It's obviously derived from the classic Blaster toy, but they can safely defend in court that they built the mold from the ground up, themselves. As for the images, as long as it's all new artwork, and doesn't feature any protected trademarks or copyrights, again, they're in the clear. Obviously, all of this
indirectly infringes upon Hasbro's copyrights, but it's not worth Hasbro's time to pursue it. I would imagine that the worst they would face is a Cease & Desist letter.
But as soon as they say "Blaster", they are directly infringing upon Hasbro's rights, and they are at risk for a full lawsuit. Again, Hasbro probably wouldn't bother unless they sense a real threat to their property, physical or intellectual... but why take the chance? Especially these days, when the 3rd party companies are coming out with stuff almost as good as Hasbro itself, Hasbro has to be ready to protect itself.