The Baron wrote:Hasbro wrote:The rules with copyright is that we must continually use a name in order to keep the mark. We no long hold the mark for the Red Shadow.
Hasbro wrote:Yes, Hasbro owns any releases of GI Joe under Action Force. Many of the names used originally are no longer trademarked.
Hasbro wrote:Fans who want to produce figures and sell them on a mass basis (not a single custom figure) should talk to Hasbro directly about the opportunity. Due to trademark rights, fans cannot produce and sell their own figures.
So looking at question 2 there, I get the impression that they still own the name Action Force, but not Z Force, SAS Force, Q Force, Space Force or the Red Shadows.
Does anybody know anything about registering a copyright? I did a google yesterday and went blind.
Well, I am very curious as to how they answered with this: "Yes, Hasbro owns any releases of GI Joe under Action Force. Many of the names used originally are no longer trademarked."...
I took that as meaning the more articulated figures that WERE GI Joes originally like Red Laser, Gaucho, Quarrel, etc as their likeness is under constant use by Hasbro.... however where that leaves Quickfire, Beaver, Skip, Wheels, Baron Ironblood, etc ...who knows ?
I do not know, but if any of you have lawyer buddies I would definately look into copyrights and trademarks... who knows Baron maybe you could end up owning some of these and marketing them... I just don't know. But I don't see as it's been over 20 years and Hasbro never updated or used Wheels for example how they can possibly still own the copywrite or trademark to him.
I am also thinking that perhaps Devils Due/Image might own Red Shadow and Black Major because they used them in the GI Joe comic book perhaps they aquired the rights already ???
Lots of very interesting questions and possibilties of who owns what and who COULD own what...
maybe instead of pooling prizes together next time we donate some money for a copyright lawyer and get this sorted out...
Sadly other than agreeing that there is an amazing probable possibility out there that the trademarks for those figures and possibly the copyrights themselves are out there for the majority of SAS, Z-Force, Q-Force, etc I have no idea about how to go about finding out and aquiring them. ... as the old song goes "...Send LAWYERS, guns, and money ...." I now know why they ask for the lawyers first.