No 3rd Party Toys at Botcon 2012

[Shepp]

And if their engineering and marketing staff were doing their jobs properly, they would have beat every 3rd-Party company to the punch.

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by chaingunsofdoom

Glad to finally hear this news. After attending 10 of the last dozen BotCons, you have to see it for yourself. Last year was probably the worst with booths flaunting their "non-licensed toys" right near Hasbro and the Kre-o booth.

Poke the bear enough with a stick and it will bite your arm off. Now if their lawyers did their job properly in the first place, they wouldn't have had to do it this way with the fans and they'd be catching these "non-licensed toys" in Customs at point-of-entry.

This.

Hasbro has been VERY accomidating with these 3rd party companies IMO and they(3rd Partys) want to further try their luck with selling Hasbros own brand, right under their nose?

[RageD]

It's not so much that hasbro's doing it, It's the way in which they are doing it. Others have brought this up in the thread, but what if that's why I was going? Do I get a refund?

With all the bad press Funpub is getting and deservedly so, now this, another slap to the face.

Policies should be up BEFORE a single ticket is purchased or sold, you shouldn't be adding them willy-nilly after the fact.

[Rogue_Optimus]

so the dealers will be pushing their 3rd party drugs to the alleys/hotel rooms then. noone will be in the dealer room, just floating up in the "drug" alley for their 3rd party fix

[Sun Swipe Prime]

Originally Posted by Robimus

I have no issue with Hasbro protecting its IP's and not allowing 3rd party items violating that to be sold in thier dealer room.

It's the wording here thats the issue. The idea that they somehow have the right to just take anything that they want from a dealer, no questions asked, no warnings seems a little extreme.

Ditto on this. I could understand kicking people out and having them lose there rights to be at the show, but to take/ confiscate their stuff, that doesn't seem right. I have an image of they leather clad SS stormtroopers asking everyone for their Hasbro licences.

"Do you you 'ave your papers for that product? NO? Take it away. I don't care if you're only 6yrs old and made that 'Optimalus Primobot' at school. Violation unlicenced Optimus Prime. We take it now. Stop your crying you baby."

[Autobotz24]

I've always wanted to go to a BotCon but after reading this I'm not so sure anymore. I may still go one of these years just to say I did but not to sure about a return visit.
Thank god for TFCon

[Shepp]

See, now I can understand for any company that is producing a replica of something Hasbro and TakaraTomy originally manufactured. If there's a problem with that product, they face the consequences and the original manufacturer disappears like a fart in the wind.

But 3rd party companies are a vastly different animal entirely. They're often producing things that HasTak would not, or producing things far superior. It also looks like a few 3rd part companies are branching off into their own IP not associated with Transformers.

I have a feeling that HasTak's stance in this is both rooted in getting rid of the KO parasites, and also eliminating competing companies before they become a problem.

[justprime]

Hasbro and Tomy did this overseas,Japan.... any vendor selling third party pieces was dropped, I for one think this IP has gone two far,.. if the third party is naming there brand Transformers then thats an issue, however are we now living in a country where free enterprise is forbidden,.. if Hasbro is not going to produce (herculese G1 arcee) or for that matter even make product available such as the DOTM pieces that were canceled etc then I am all for some one else comming in an filling the gap,... Just because a piece "transforms" doesn't make it hasbros rights to limit the right of others to produce and sell ( as long as they don't call them Transformers) the prime laptop is a instance where hasbro should pull back,... Prime in the dictonay means first in..etc.. (the word was around long before Hasbro laid claim to it as IP),.. not to mention it was not a transformers,.. this is how stupid this has gotten maybe Hasbro should look more towards improving there sales by providing product and there relation with there buyers than chasing this ,... I gear can provide new pieces, Hasbro provides repaints,I have always been loyal to tf's line but this is changing in the face of poorly produced pieces,to many repaints and lines cancelled and no product,.. I know where I will spend some of my Hard earned cash,... If Hasbro wants to put third partys out of business then make pieces affordable, available and fresh/new,... then third parties won't stand a chance,.... its called competition, they should also relise that business like reprolables and the add on pieces producers actully helps keep there old product stay alive and adds to sales of new lines again a little pre thought here goes a long way.
As for the way they bullied at botcon well hope they don't show at TF con if this is the way there going to be,... last time I looked we lived in a free nation.

[Shepp]

I hadn't considered this until now, but could HasTak be setting up Funpub to fail?

They may be looking for an excuse to shop the licensing for the convention around to someone else, or even take it over themselves.

[Robimus]

Originally Posted by Shepp

But 3rd party companies are a vastly different animal entirely. They're often producing things that HasTak would not, or producing things far superior. It also looks like a few 3rd part companies are branching off into their own IP not associated with Transformers.

This really shouldn't matter though. For instance Seaspray is a Transformer, cut and dried. When a third party company uses Hasbro's likeness of that character to make money, as I-Gear has, that shouldn't be allowed.

It doesn't matter if Hasbro doesn't want to produce it, it belongs to them.

What they are doing would be the same as someone using the character of Lestat from Anne Rice. Anne Rice decided to stop writing her Vampire Chronical books, that doesn't mean someone else can come along and take her exact characters, write, market and sell thier own book just because she wasn't doing it anymore.

Rager and Spray, along side the recent Hercules are great examples of toys that are relying on Hasbro owned imagry to sell. I bet they wouldn't sell very many $600 Hercules sets if it was made up of tractors and steamrollers that combined to form a triangular headed combiner. They would still sell some, but the attraction is that its Devestator.

Legally its all such a gray area to be sure, and if a company is deciding to develop their own properties then more power to them. I actually think thats a great idea.

I buy some 3rd Party stuff, but I do recognize that the reason I'm buying it is because of its similarity with Hasbro's Transformers characters. I totally understand why Hasbro would do this, I'm just not sure they are going about it the right way.