G.I. JOE Creator Looks To Reclaim Ownership From HASBRO

[drquest]

http://www.newsarama.com/25933-g-i-j...om-hasbro.html

[palitoy]

Heh, it's more than likely just a cash grab at this point but hey, maybe he'd do something with the brand....

[Bronxboykev]

Why not, Hasbro doesn't seem to be doing anything with it, Heck I've been doing more for GI Joe than they are lol

[phil]

I know cases of this nature are becoming more common but has any plantiff ever won a big case?

[huedell]

Heh, it's more than likely just a cash grab at this point ....

I'm thinking it ain't based on integrity of the brand or anything of a personal nature. The cash incentive is pretty significant.

[thunderbolt]

the problem will be that all Weston did is sell them the idea of a military based figure line, the GI Joe name came from elsewhere and will stay with Hasbro.

[huedell]

the problem will be that all Weston did is sell them the idea of a military based figure line, the GI Joe name came from elsewhere and will stay with Hasbro.

I can see this 35 year copyright thing being a possible score for a few situations with a good lawyer playing the right angles---but when all you've got is "military as toy concept" to lean upon...seems pretty hopeless against a giant toy company.

[PNGwynne]

The irony is, Hasbro will fight tooth and nail to keep the rights, but they choose to do little with them. Having said that, I think Weston's claim is tenuous and self-serving.

[huedell]

Having said that, I think Weston's claim is tenuous and self-serving.

What other reasoning for owning intellectual property rights is there than self-serving reasons?

[PNGwynne]

I don't know, you tell me--I can't picture an altruistic motivation. We're not discussing Jonas Salk here. But I only mentioned my opinion of his claim, "self-serving" carries an admittedly negative connotation.

If a law exists allowing him to exercise his rights, so be it. As a collector, I'm merely interested to see what he'll do with those rights if he secures them. Do you really think he'll successfully lay claim to any type of toy format? The horse has left the gate, so to speak. He's almost certainly not going to get to claim the name "GI Joe", nor any Palitoy improvements on the figures, nor the revisioning of the line into its 3 3/4 format. I'm certainly not deifying Hasbro, but what is his intention other than increased renumeration? And, if that's all it is, why not go for it back in 1999?

We'd better be wary, Weston's Leisure Concepts Industries suggested both Captain Action and Mego WGSH, too.

[thunderbolt]

This is what Stan Weston would have claim to:



not the name or body or the RAH line, just the prototypes, it would be cool to see them mass produced, tho.