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Esp since so much T'au models have a very Macross/BattleTech feel to their appearance?

The fact Gold Harmony had the nerve and somehow been successful at obstructing a company giant from Japan,Tatsunoko (esp since its not just one of the anime monopoly companies but period a powerhouse) and actually had effectively continue their use of laws to prevent the original Macross that Harmony Gold's most important IP Robotech came from from releasing more products in the USA up until the 2010s says it all........

Its more than that, they even did multiple lawsuits against the BattleTech franchise and were one of the prime reasons the original creators of BattleTech, FASA, eventually closed down due to bankruptcy........ On top of also taking action against other companies that later bought the BattleTech license and thus forcing the franchise to become a struggling one that barely survived and only is now picking back up again.......

Makes me wonder why they never tried to target Games Workshop as a victim for their T'au faction?

Giant robots are not a trademarkable or copyrightable idea, only very specific executions of the idea.

Battletech, for example, did not use similar mechs, it used the exact same mechs which they had licensed from Japan.

Similarly Tatsunoko was not selling similar mechs, they were selling the mechs which HG claimed they had an exclusive American license for.

Whether or not HG had the rights they claimed
is the heart of the cases.

As far as I know they never went after Gundam or other properties that use giant robots, just Macross/Robotech related ones.

Tau look nothing like Macross/Robotech except in a vague way of being giant robots.

Oh and FASA did not go bankrupt.

Well for starters GW doesn't use Battletech names nor designs. Their mechs might share some elements, but ultimately they are their own designs. You'd be hard pressed to mistake a Tau battle suit for a Macross/Battletech design.


So its a huge uphill struggle for HG to try and prove some kind of copyright.


Secondly GW are big and established in the western markets. This means they not only have the resources to actually afford going to court, but they would be more likely to fight it out in court.
Heck their own attempt to protect Space Marines backfired on GW, but also showed how even a big firm like them couldn't just blanket copyright a concept. Which is basically what HG would be trying to do.



I think HG has survived with a very questionable hold over a licence that they only have distribution rights on for a long time by being crafty.

SlamDunkerista wrote:
Esp since so much T'au models have a very Macross/BattleTech feel to their appearance?

The fact Gold Harmony had the nerve and somehow been successful at obstructing a company giant from Japan,Tatsunoko (esp since its not just one of the anime monopoly companies but period a powerhouse) and actually had effectively continue their use of laws to prevent the original Macross that Harmony Gold's most important IP Robotech came from from releasing more products in the USA up until the 2010s says it all........

Well, no. It doesn't say it all. In the 80s, the Japanese companies involved signed some weird deals that didn't translate well through international IP laws. Short version is, Harmony Gold has more of a license than ownership of the IP.

Its more than that, they even did multiple lawsuits against the BattleTech franchise and were one of the prime reasons the original creators of BattleTech, FASA, eventually closed down due to bankruptcy........ On top of also taking action against other companies that later bought the BattleTech license and thus forcing the franchise to become a struggling one that barely survived and only is now picking back up again.......

FASA went down due to internal issues (mostly embezzlement, as I understand it).
The franchise didn't particularly struggle. It had down periods when various temporary owners passed it on, and the computer game licenses got fairly complicated for other reasons, but the game remained in play even when it technically wasn't in circulation. The big 'lawsuit' issue was a handful of popular mechs that FASA had also licensed from the Japanese companies (and HG was canny enough with legislation to contest the apparent conflict), and once the Unseen were out of the picture, Harmony Gold had nothing to go on.

Makes me wonder why they never tried to target Games Workshop as a victim for their T'au faction?

For the same reason Nike doesn't sue Games Workshop over models wearing shoes. There's zero basis for it.

Voss wrote:
The big 'lawsuit' issue was a handful of popular mechs that FASA had also licensed from the Japanese companies (and HG was canny enough with legislation to contest the apparent conflict), and once the Unseen were out of the picture, Harmony Gold had nothing to go on.

It was also that FASA didn't have/want-to-spend the money to fight it in court. When Piranha Games started putting out models for Mechwarrior Online that closer matched the original artwork than the ReSeen models from Project Phoenix, HG tried to take them to court. Piranha Games decided to fight, and it was dismissed with prejudice. This opened the door for CGL to start releasing updated models of the Unseen that were closer to the original art than the ReSeen "Project Phoenix" models.

Yeah, and as litigious as Games Workshop is (and based in England, too) would be a good reason for Harmony Gold to not try and take them on. They knew they had more than enough money and willingness to fight.

What an odd thread.

Remember when FASA issued a C&D against Games Workshop over the Slocombes Warbots and them being rip-offs of Battletech mechs... and Games Workshop did indeed cease and desist in the sale of them. That's because they had a case, which they don't have against Tau designs.

http://solegends.com/citrt2/slocombes/index.htm

Juxtimon wrote:
Remember when FASA issued a C&D against Games Workshop over the Slocombes Warbots and them being rip-offs of Battletech mechs... and Games Workshop did indeed cease and desist in the sale of them. That's because they had a case, which they don't have against Tau designs.

http://solegends.com/citrt2/slocombes/index.htm

Wow that is shameless

Now why didn't Sly Stallone ever sue for the use of his likeness

Juxtimon wrote:
Remember when FASA issued a C&D against Games Workshop over the Slocombes Warbots and them being rip-offs of Battletech mechs... and Games Workshop did indeed cease and desist in the sale of them. That's because they had a case, which they don't have against Tau designs.

http://solegends.com/citrt2/slocombes/index.htm

Amusingly enough, those would also fall afoul of Lucasfilm's trademark on the word 'droid' (currently licensed to Verizon for their phones).
Since it wasn't a commonplace word, they could and did claim it.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Wow that is shameless

Archer, Catapult & Vindicator?

SlamDunkerista wrote:
Its more than that, they even did multiple lawsuits against the BattleTech franchise and were one of the prime reasons the original creators of BattleTech, FASA, eventually closed down due to bankruptcy........

Voss wrote:
FASA went down due to internal issues (mostly embezzlement, as I understand it).

Neither of these is correct. From https://www.sarna.net/wiki/FASA#Withdrawal_from_the_market

FASA unexpectedly ceased active operations in early 2001. Contrary to popular belief, the company did not go bankrupt; it still exists as a corporation holding IP rights which it licenses to other publishers. According to the owners, they decided to quit while the company was still financially sound in a market they perceived as going downhill. Mort Weisman had been talking of retirement for some years and his confidence in the future of the paper-based games business was low. He considered the intellectual property of FASA to be of high value but did not wish to continue working as he had been for the last decade or more. Unwilling to wrestle with the complexities of dividing up the going concern, the owners issued a press release on 25 January 2001 announcing the immediate closure of the business.

For the same reason Fox/Giger couldn’t sue over Genestealers.

Similar concept does not equal theft of design.

In my example both are semi-parasitical alien life forms with exoskeletons. But that’s where it ends.

4 Limbs - 6 Limbs
Elongated head - Bulbous Head
No visible eyes - clearly visible eyes
Generally upright posture - typically hunched posture
Prehensile, Bladed Tail - Short Tail
Implants young into you with fatal results - Corrupts your DNA to force hybrid children, and you can keep on doing it as long as you live.

Yeah you'd sue over Hormagaunts (first generation) not genestealers

Even they’ve got some defensible differences.

Enough? Ask an IP Lawyer!

Voss wrote:

Juxtimon wrote:
Remember when FASA issued a C&D against Games Workshop over the Slocombes Warbots and them being rip-offs of Battletech mechs... and Games Workshop did indeed cease and desist in the sale of them. That's because they had a case, which they don't have against Tau designs.

http://solegends.com/citrt2/slocombes/index.htm

Amusingly enough, those would also fall afoul of Lucasfilm's trademark on the word 'droid' (currently licensed to Verizon for their phones).
Since it wasn't a commonplace word, they could and did claim it.

Yes, I'm surprised Lucas didn't say something.
Afterall Battletech is called Battletech because of Lucas objecting to its original name: Battledroids.

I'm surprised the 2nd iteration of Tyranid warriors didn't get the attention of Fox as a Alien Queen rip-off. Nor the Striking Scorpion resemblance to the Predator, Necron warriors to T800 Terminator exo-skeletons, or even Arbiters semblance of Judge Dredd... I could be here all night.

I was going to mention this model from the Rogue Trader rulebook, but looks like it's already been noted: