STL: Yeah, I see what you mean by infringement over deception. Having said that, IMHO I find garage kits to be a more "benign" form of infringement whereas KOs are more malignant (especially if they are counterfeits that attempt to pass off as legit products). Garage kits are somewhat similar to say doujinshi or fan subbs; technically illegal but openly tolerated by companies where both parties realise that they can benefit from each other and there's a sort of unspoken code of honour that exists. I used to be involved in fansubbing and I can tell you that animé companies _definitely_ knew we existed, and in fact often would observe the popularity of fan subs to gauge interest in a title before officially obtaining a licence for it. They even wrote friendly letters to us and gave us sample products!
And I think that companies can stand to benefit a lot if they play their cards right with "benign infringers" -- and on the other hand, things can turn very nasty against companies if they slap down too hard on benign infringers too. Look at the BotCon Japan 2000 Ichikawa Hirofumi controversy (I'm sure I've told you this story before). Although Takara were legally fully within their rights to do what they did to Ichikawa, the majority of Japanese fans felt that it was still an act of douchebaggery and as a result really lashed out against them. BotCon Japan has since become _extinct_ and Takara worked very hard in cooperation with Ichikawa to repair company-fan relations. To their credit they've done well, but yeah - I think they learned a lesson that flexing their legal muscle in a way which fans see as nothing more than corporate greed and selfishness can blow up in their face if it compromises their reputation and relationship with consumers.
I somehow don't think the majority of fans would feel a similar sense of outrage if HasTak ever cracked down on a bootlegger.
What monopoly? It's not as if Transformers is the _only_ toy brand out there. We have Lego, Ben 10, Barbie, Sesame Street, Bakugan etc. And Transformers isn't the only scif robot toy brand out there, we also have Roadbots and Machine Robot. And in Japan the competition in this field is even more massive with the plethora of mecha toys and merchandise there (Transformers are like an insect compared to Gundam).Originally Posted by bruticus
Unless you're saying that HasTak have a monopoly in making 'Transformers' - which is not a really valid argument. Of _course_ they have a monopoly in making Transformers; it's their brand! That's like saying that Holden has a monopoly in making Commodores or Lamborghini has a monopoly in making Diablos. Or that Mattel (which is a bigger company than Hasbro) has a monopoly in making Barbie. Yes, Barbie is Mattel's IP - but that in itself isn't stopping any other toy maker from making their own girls' doll line. Likewise HasTak owning Transformers doesn't stop anyone else from developing their own transforming robot toy line like say Macross. Heck, Transformers itself was _born_ from different transforming robot lines owned by different companies (though most by Takara) e.g. Diaclone, Microman, Astro Magnum, Mechabot-1, Beetras, Dorvack etc.
So go ahead and boycott products that you think are sub par. I don't see how that justifies supporting an illegal market though.
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