More G1 KO Cassettes including the Japanese Dinos?!

[kup]

It could well be. The thing is with this that KO Toys had managed to piss off that many groups that this was inevitable- fans by facilitating scam artists (the very fans they were claiming they were marketting to), Hasbro and FP into the mix.

I honestly can't think of a more disastrous PR situation for a toy/collectibles company in recent years.

you know what? What if FP was responsible for it? technically FP is legit and should have enough weight to threaten them into closing.

[bowspearer]

you know what? What if FP was responsible for it? technically FP is legit and should have enough weight to threaten them into closing.

I was never saying they weren't. What I am saying is that it's an interesting situation, considering the groups they'd managed to alienate. If it was Hasbro though, I have no doubt that KOToys would still have referred to them as "some company".

I think the only way you'll get an answer is if the other party that forced their hand actually comes forward and says so.

[Cat]

On the KOtoys forum itself (link below courtesy of fullmetalhero) the store owner says he was pressured into shutting down by some "company". Whether or not it was actually Hasbro, we're yet to find out.

What's interesting though is that he's still siphoning / liquidating the remaining stock and honoring preorders. The crackdown by this unknown company on KOtoys clearly hasn't taken on a very hardline approach if he's still able to operate for the remainder of the year.

https://www.kotoys.com/forum/index.p...ic,2161.0.html

Not really.

Cease And Desists (I'm assuming that was at least PART of the documention sent to KOToys) generally have a timeline for the party to adhere to. 30 days is a pretty standard one, and that times up perfectly with KOToys' statement that they have to shut down by 2012.

And I'll come forward as the person who asked Bowspearer to remove some details. That's because I thought that some of what he'd posted could provide KOToys with ideas for ways to work around their current situation, and well, no way in hell I want to see that!

[jaydisc]

Having a server in the USA does not make your business prone to US law. At best, a US company could have filed a court order asking for the hosting company to take down the site. Obviously, this did not happen. To assume that this phone call caused some international pressure, especially in such a short period of time, is (IMO): silly.

[bowspearer]

Having a server in the USA does not make your business prone to US law. At best, a US company could have filed a court order asking for the hosting company to take down the site. Obviously, this did not happen. To assume that this phone call caused some international pressure, especially in such a short period of time, is (IMO): silly.

Not at all and you've completely failed to understand how telecommunications laws work here.

I'm not saying that my phone call definitely did bring this about, however you're forgetting one thing.

KOToys online store being hosted in the US means that it was physically doing business in the US.

If that phone call either prompted Hasbro to act or gave them extra info so they could act; then Hasbro could definitely have acted, potentially even extraditing the owners to face civil charges even if they physically lived in another country.

[kup]

I think it's best to drop the whole 'I called Hasbro and they shutdown KOToys' stance unless you have concrete evidence to support that your call directly cause it. Like it or not, KO Toys is still in business and appears to be closing down on their own accord which goes against the whole 'Hasbro is shutting them down' angle.

Hell! They are even opening pre-orders for a Headmaster KO Head!

[valkyrie_76]

I think it's best to drop the whole 'I called Hasbro and they shutdown KOToys' stance unless you have concrete evidence to support that your call directly cause it. Like it or not, KO Toys is still in business and appears to be closing down on their own accord which goes against the whole 'Hasbro is shutting them down' angle.

Hell! They are even opening pre-orders for a Headmaster KO Head!

What he said

[jaydisc]

Not at all and you've completely failed to understand how telecommunications laws work here.

But we're not talking about here. I've worked for hosting providers in the USA (I'm a dual citizen) and have even been on the receiving side of take down orders.

I'm not saying that my phone call definitely did bring this about, however you're forgetting one thing.

KOToys online store being hosted in the US means that it was physically doing business in the US.

If that phone call either prompted Hasbro to act or gave them extra info so they could act; then Hasbro could definitely have acted, potentially even extraditing the owners to face civil charges even if they physically lived in another country.

I'm not arguing that they weren't doing business in the USA. I'm pointing out that having a server hosted in the USA does not give the US the power to shut down your overseas business, rather at best, only the USA section (which they obviously have not done)

As to the concept of extradition, have you noticed how long the extradition proceedings have been going on for Julian Assange, who mind you is public enemy #1 in America? Do you think that after all these years of non-action, suddenly armed with your phone call, that Hasbro suddenly decided to not only act in this regard, but managed to supplant all of the due process, red tape and associated delays that such a process entails?

And all of this is completely moot anyway, as China has no extradition treaties with the West.

[MindsetOverhaul]

i heard that Zhao himself had said right from the beginning, he was only going to do this for 2 to 3 years and then split. i'd say he's made some good cash and is ready to run along. i don't support KOtoys but i think this couldnt have come at a better time and has actually worked out well for him.

under the right circumstances, if you're stealing creative properties from a large company, they would just shut you down and impound the merch. they certainly wouldn't offered an opportunity to sell off your inventory.

and some people forget that transformers isn't hasbros' only franchise.

[reillyd]

If it were a real take down order, the website would have been pulled.
Cease and desists are common enough, but in criminal copyright infringment ICE/DHS just sieze the domain name and point it to their own server.

In fact, you don't actually have to be infringing to have your domain name siezed. Here's an article on it in today's Wired
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...omain-seizure/

But if you visit pirate torrent sites. you'd already be VERY familiar with what the logo looks like..... Thank the creator for foreign hosted Piratebay