FT-03 Shockwave

[kup]

ohh yeah. There was going to be an unofficial MP Soundwave for a while wasn't there...?

Yeah by this same company. Got cancelled when the official one was announced. Now making that MP Soundwave was indeed a risky move since that mold was clearly destined to be an official MP some day as it is a popular character and Hasbro has full rights to the original toy.

[Waxpython]

Yeah by this same company. Got cancelled when the official one was announced. Now making that MP Soundwave was indeed a risky move since that mold was clearly destined to be an official MP some day as it is a popular character and Hasbro has full rights to the original toy.

didn't hasbro lose rights to the astro magnum alt mode ?

[kup]

didn't hasbro lose rights to the astro magnum alt mode ?

I don't think they ever had ownership of the mold. The G1 Shockwave toy was something Hasbro paid license to release but the mold belonged to Toyco. Just how G1 Jetfire is a Bandai mold that Hasbro paid to have released for Tranformers back in the 80s.

Not sure who owns the G1 Shockwave mold now as originally it had been licensed and sold to several companies back in the 80s. However it may be safe to say that Hasbro is not the current owner.

[Waxpython]

you guys could get that or you could get http://www.ioffer.com/i/transformers...-new-518286995

[Bidoofdude]

you guys could get that or you could get http://www.ioffer.com/i/transformers...-new-518286995

That's a knockoff...

[kup]

you guys could get that or you could get http://www.ioffer.com/i/transformers...-new-518286995

I'll stick with Quakewave thanks.

[Robzy]

I don't think they ever had ownership of the mold. The G1 Shockwave toy was something Hasbro paid license to release but the mold belonged to Toyco. Just how G1 Jetfire is a Bandai mold that Hasbro paid to have released for Tranformers back in the 80s.

Not sure who owns the G1 Shockwave mold now as originally it had been licensed and sold to several companies back in the 80s. However it may be safe to say that Hasbro is not the current owner.

Just out of curiosity... who owns the rights to the original G1 cartoon/comics likeness of Shockwave? I mean, is it a bit like Mattel's situation with MOTUC... ie, Takara/Hasbro might be able to do a version of the G1 "cartoon" Shockwave but not the G1 "toy" version?

[Bidoofdude]

I think it might be something to do with what he looks like, but I for sure can't say as I'm not exactly an expert on these things.

[kup]

Just out of curiosity... who owns the rights to the original G1 cartoon/comics likeness of Shockwave? I mean, is it a bit like Mattel's situation with MOTUC... ie, Takara/Hasbro might be able to do a version of the G1 "cartoon" Shockwave but not the G1 "toy" version?

I don't think cartoon likeness is a factor. Like Mattel, I think that 'ownership rights to the studio' only comes into play if the character happens to be an original creation of the show/comic and not based on a toy. However there may be differing deals such as what they had with Marvel with Death's Head and Circuit Braker belonging to Marvel. This is because they appeared first in a non-TF comic while other comic original characters remained with Hasbro.

I say that Shockwave's 'cartoon/comic' likeness belongs to Hasbro within that medium but if it's a toy that strongly resembles the Astro Magnum, it makes things a little riskier. Keep in mind that nowadays there seems to be a whole lawyer industry dedicated to suing larger corporations. So even if there is the slightest bit of doubt on the legal ownership of something, Hasbro would be unwilling to take the risk if negligible.

Personally speaking, I don't think anyone would legally give a damn if Hasbro releases a G1 accurate MP Shockwave. No one has legally sold the Astro Magnum mold in years and who knows who owns it, maybe no one does anymore.

[Robzy]

I don't think cartoon likeness is a factor. Like Mattel, I think that 'ownership rights to the studio' only comes into play if the character happens to be an original creation of the show/comic and not based on a toy. However there may be differing deals such as what they had with Marvel with Death's Head and Circuit Braker belonging to Marvel. This is because they appeared first in a non-TF comic while other comic original characters remained with Hasbro.

I say that Shockwave's 'cartoon/comic' likeness belongs to Hasbro within that medium but if it's a toy that strongly resembles the Astro Magnum, it makes things a little riskier. Keep in mind that nowadays there seems to be a whole lawyer industry dedicated to suing larger corporations. So even if there is the slightest bit of doubt on the legal ownership of something, Hasbro would be unwilling to take the risk if negligible.

Personally speaking, I don't think anyone would legally give a damn if Hasbro releases a G1 accurate MP Shockwave. No one has legally sold the Astro Magnum mold in years and who knows who owns it, maybe no one does anymore.

But would it only apply to "original" creations? I know we're splitting hairs a bit, as the cartoon likeness of Shockwave looked damn close to the toy likeness (it's a shame we're not talking about G1 Ironhide here, for example), but it just makes me wonder. I mean, I wouldn't have thought anyone can stop Hasbro/Takara from making a toy that looks like one of their own characters - even if a new MP Shockwave was more "cartoony" than "Astro Magnum" in appearance, I think that people would willingly take it.

I mean, if Mattel can legally make Vykron for MOTUC, based on a "concept" and "original design" that clearly looks like Boba Fett, just by tweaking the design a little, then I think Hasbro might have some ground for making an official "cartoon-inspired" Shockwave.

Plus, you may be right - maybe no one owns the "Shockwave" mould anymore... If they did, they should be releasing it (or selling it to Takara for a pretty penny) and cashing in! He's definitely an A-Lister!