Hasbro Press Release: Trademark Rights Upheld in Counterfeit Transformers Products Ca

[Super_Megatron]

Hasbro recently received a favorable judgment from a Chinese court in a criminal case about counterfeit Transformers products. “We take the protection of our intellectual property very seriously, and we will continue to investigate and pursue those who infringe on our rights,” said Tarrant Sibley, Hasbro’s Chief Legal Officer. “We are pleased with the ruling in this case, and will continue to vigorously enforce our intellectual property rights to combat the manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit products.” What do you think of this decision? Review the entire press release here and then sound off on the 2005 boards!

The post Hasbro Press Release: Trademark Rights Upheld in Counterfeit Transformers Products Case appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.



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[canprime]

And so it begins!!!!!!

Good to see they won at least one case in China. However I wouldn't hold my breath, if I was Hasbro, that this will keep happening.

[optimusb39]

so 'countefeit products' ...
that would only apply to kos. third party original designs wouldnt fall under that category. they will have a fight on their hands if they try to claim rights to anythings the big 3ps put out.
they will have to go for an infrigment of i.p. battle to tackle these guys. good luck winning those ones in a country whose primary export is kos and third party productions...

[ssjgoku22]

Originally Posted by optimusb39

so 'countefeit products' ...
that would only apply to kos. third party original designs wouldnt fall under that category. they will have a fight on their hands if they try to claim rights to anythings the big 3ps put out.
they will have to go for an infrigment of i.p. battle to tackle these guys. good luck winning those ones in a country whose primary export is kos and third party productions...

I hope it doesn't affect 3rd party. The 3rd party Transformers market has made this hobby so much more interesting.

[Soundwaves]

3ps are kos if they're blatant copies of known characters.

Original stuff should be fine.

[Sun Swipe Prime]

Well, good luck to them. Other than legally protecting themselves, I'm not too sure it'll make a difference in a practical sense.

[Oreobuilder]

I don't know what the scope of the ruling is, but shutting down 3rd party won't make me buy more Hasbro stuff. I'll continue to buy some MP and a few select Generations figures. However, I agree that 3rd Party is what makes the hobby the most fun, so eventually, I would just quit altogether. My collection is pretty nice as it is. Anyway, time will tell what the effect of the ruling will be. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy collecting.

OB

[pulsedragon20]

I'm pretty sure it doesn't affect 3rd party TFs. It's more "Chinese reissues" G1s and MPs.

As long as 3rd party TFs don't use their "official name", it should be fine since they are more than just "changing a head ", the whole body is different and that they don't used the same mould as Hasbro/Takara does.

[Cpl. Chrissandwich]

Originally Posted by Soundwaves

3ps are kos if they're blatant copies of known characters.

Original stuff should be fine.

3rd Party aren't KOs. A KO implies they took an already existing toy and copied exactly. Right down to the name. If they took something out of a comic and made it a figure ie Kulter (Tarn) from MMC it is not a ko. Tarn is a known character, but Hasbro or Takara haven't released a figure of him. Flame toys did (under license of Hasbro) but after Kulter was released.

[Chigimus]

Originally Posted by Soundwaves

3ps are kos if they're blatant copies of known characters.

Original stuff should be fine.

3P are not the same as KO's. KO's are straight duplicates of originals, even if scale is changed. 3P is inspired from source material but showing a vastly different aesthetic and not a duplicate.