Hasbro Applies for Trademarks for Several Familiar Names
Saturday, March 24th, 2012 5:10PM CDT
Category: Company NewsPosted by: El Duque Views: 46,885
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Posted by Rodimus Prime on March 24th, 2012 @ 5:17pm CDT
Posted by Megazarak on March 24th, 2012 @ 5:35pm CDT
Posted by Galactic Prime on March 24th, 2012 @ 5:41pm CDT
Posted by Lord Onixprime on March 24th, 2012 @ 5:42pm CDT
Posted by Mkall on March 24th, 2012 @ 5:55pm CDT
Galactic Prime wrote:Call him Hound, this stupid Autobot Hound Autobot Jazz crap is stupid.
Can't be done. Hound/Jazz/Tracks etc are too common to be trademarked.
I'm not holding out hope for any immediate releases, though a classics-verse Strika would be awesome.
Posted by Kylehudson1996 on March 24th, 2012 @ 6:20pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on March 24th, 2012 @ 6:27pm CDT
Nemesis Strika is an odd one. I guess they want to use "Strika", but couldn't, and so went with the next best thing. Should she appear in fiction, she probably won't be referred to with the "Nemesis" part.
Blight and Kickback may also seem weird, but it should be noted that these were two of the names of the two Energon Bruticus Maximus tank components.
Now, Wing Saber, that's an interesting pick. Wonder what he'll entail. In this day and age, he could be anything.
Posted by welcometothedarksyde on March 24th, 2012 @ 6:42pm CDT
Posted by welcometothedarksyde on March 24th, 2012 @ 6:44pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on March 24th, 2012 @ 7:28pm CDT
That would be such a waste of several good names.welcometothedarksyde wrote:Hasbro might plan on using these names for the as of the moment japanese minicon exclusives
Posted by griftimus prime on March 24th, 2012 @ 8:02pm CDT
Posted by Noideaforaname on March 24th, 2012 @ 8:05pm CDT
welcometothedarksyde wrote:Hasbro might plan on using these names for the as of the moment japanese minicon exclusives
If that happened, "Autobot Hound" would literally be an Autobot hound.
Posted by Bumblevivisector on March 24th, 2012 @ 8:44pm CDT
And still I wonder who's had the name ScattErshot trademarked for the past decade. Cybertron Scattorshot/Backpack was a cool character, but I love the Technobots enough that the single letter change also being attributed to their leader bugs me more than a prefix would.
Posted by gavinfuzzy on March 24th, 2012 @ 8:50pm CDT
Posted by -Kanrabat- on March 24th, 2012 @ 8:54pm CDT
Man, I so want to see a TF Prime update of him!
And don't forget the toy!
Also, I'd love to see a MP Hound.
Posted by Sabrblade on March 24th, 2012 @ 9:12pm CDT
According to Exiles, he does exist.-Kanrabat- wrote:I really like Hound. He's one of my favorite character and deserves more attention. That corpyright thingy is just a good sing that he will be back.
Man, I so want to see a TF Prime update of him!
And don't forget the toy!
Posted by Rated X on March 24th, 2012 @ 10:39pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on March 24th, 2012 @ 10:53pm CDT
What sort of name are you referring to? There are certain names they can't get because they're either already owned by somebody else or too common a name to get a legal trademark for.Rated X wrote:What would happen if a fan were to apply for the trademark to a forgotten Transformer name and get it ? Could I sell it to anyone legally, even Fansproject ???
Posted by Rated X on March 24th, 2012 @ 11:05pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:What sort of name are you referring to? There are certain names they can't get because they're either already owned by somebody else or too common a name to get a legal trademark for.Rated X wrote:What would happen if a fan were to apply for the trademark to a forgotten Transformer name and get it ? Could I sell it to anyone legally, even Fansproject ???
Hasbro already used "Autobot hound" in 2008. So Im guessing the copyrights expire every 4-5 years. So hypothettically, if I had inside information on the exact expiration date and submitted an application for trademark before Hasbro renewed, could I own the name "Autobot Hound" ??? And if I could own it, can I sell it to a 3rd party company ??? Imagine a 3rd party figure legally having the real name instead of something stupid like "Hegemon" or "Backfirey" ??? That would be awesome...
Posted by Burn on March 24th, 2012 @ 11:06pm CDT
-Kanrabat- wrote:Also, I'd love to see a MP Hound.
That's what Alternators Hound is for.
Posted by Sabrblade on March 24th, 2012 @ 11:09pm CDT
I mean, they can get "Autobot Hound", but not just "Hound". But, now I get what you're saying.Rated X wrote:Sabrblade wrote:What sort of name are you referring to? There are certain names they can't get because they're either already owned by somebody else or too common a name to get a legal trademark for.Rated X wrote:What would happen if a fan were to apply for the trademark to a forgotten Transformer name and get it ? Could I sell it to anyone legally, even Fansproject ???
Hasbro already used "Autobot hound" in 2008. So Im guessing the copyrights expire every 4-5 years. So hypothettically, if I had inside information on the exact expiration date and submitted an application for trademark before Hasbro renewed, could I own the name "Autobot Hound" ??? And if I could own it, can I sell it to a 3rd party company ??? Imagine a 3rd party figure legally having the real name instead of something stupid like "Hegemon" or "Backfirey" ??? That would be awesome...
Besides, if you did get "Autobot Hound", Hasbro could get around it with a name like "Tracker Hound" or something.
Posted by Rated X on March 24th, 2012 @ 11:26pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:I mean, they can get "Autobot Hound", but not just "Hound". But, now I get what you're saying.Rated X wrote:Sabrblade wrote:What sort of name are you referring to? There are certain names they can't get because they're either already owned by somebody else or too common a name to get a legal trademark for.Rated X wrote:What would happen if a fan were to apply for the trademark to a forgotten Transformer name and get it ? Could I sell it to anyone legally, even Fansproject ???
Hasbro already used "Autobot hound" in 2008. So Im guessing the copyrights expire every 4-5 years. So hypothettically, if I had inside information on the exact expiration date and submitted an application for trademark before Hasbro renewed, could I own the name "Autobot Hound" ??? And if I could own it, can I sell it to a 3rd party company ??? Imagine a 3rd party figure legally having the real name instead of something stupid like "Hegemon" or "Backfirey" ??? That would be awesome...
Besides, if you did get "Autobot Hound", Hasbro could get around it with a name like "Tracker Hound" or something.
Sure they could get "Tracker Hound" but imagine the look on Hasbro's faces if I-Gear made a MP Hound and legally named it "Autobot Hound" ??? Oh that would be priceless...
Posted by Downbeat on March 24th, 2012 @ 11:32pm CDT
Posted by Down_Shift on March 24th, 2012 @ 11:37pm CDT
Or they could all just be renewing the names so they can use them two years later.
Posted by -Kanrabat- on March 25th, 2012 @ 3:28am CDT
Burn wrote:-Kanrabat- wrote:Also, I'd love to see a MP Hound.
That's what Alternators Hound is for.
Yeah, you can bet your ass that I own him. (Got him brand new at a reasonable price too!)
Unfortunately, that dinky gun of his don'T cut it at all. I would so love a 3rd party company to make a weapon upgrade kit for him. I want my gaz tank, my motor thingy at the front, my hologram canon, my big jeep machine gun and my big-ass handgun. Plus a reprolabel kit to make him look more like G1.
Posted by Galactic Prime on March 25th, 2012 @ 10:55am CDT
Mkall wrote:Galactic Prime wrote:Call him Hound, this stupid Autobot Hound Autobot Jazz crap is stupid.
Can't be done. Hound/Jazz/Tracks etc are too common to be trademarked.
I'm not holding out hope for any immediate releases, though a classics-verse Strika would be awesome.
I disagree, they were fine 25 years ago, they're fine today.
Posted by Downbeat on March 25th, 2012 @ 12:04pm CDT
Galactic Prime wrote:Mkall wrote:Galactic Prime wrote:Call him Hound, this stupid Autobot Hound Autobot Jazz crap is stupid.
Can't be done. Hound/Jazz/Tracks etc are too common to be trademarked.
I'm not holding out hope for any immediate releases, though a classics-verse Strika would be awesome.
I disagree, they were fine 25 years ago, they're fine today.
Yeah...about that. Hasbro didn't trademark the names of every single character from G1 during G1. They just released the toys and didn't expect to reuse characters or names, not knowing that the characters and their names helped add to the popularity of the brand. When they did make new toys, like for Powermaster Optimus Prime and etc, THEN they applied for trademarks. Which is why that when they go back and try to get trademarks for names from G1 dudes, they might not be able to get it straight out. Poor Hot Rod hasn't BEEN Hot Rod in years, and that's because his name is too generic to trademark.
They actually can still release toys without trademarked names, but they want to have exclusive use of the names, and don't want to see legal action from other companies who have the use of the name.
Posted by Daddycon on March 25th, 2012 @ 12:49pm CDT
As for trademarks themselves, "the registration is valid as long as you file all post registration maintenance documents. You must file a “Declaration of Use” between the fifth and sixth year following registration. In addition, you must file a combined “Declaration of Use and Application for Renewal” between the ninth and tenth year after registration, and every 10 years thereafter. If these documents are not timely filed, your registration will be cancelled and cannot be revived or reinstated. For more information see Maintain/Renew a Registration."
Depending on which names fell out of active use, it is often easier for Hasbro to register a new trademark such as "Autobot Hound" than attempt to regain use of an expired mark registered by another entity. The more generic the word is, the harder it is to trademark.
Cheers,
Daddycon
Posted by Mindmaster on April 1st, 2012 @ 4:00pm CDT
*Kickback: Airachnid's lackey after "Crossfire"
*Blight: Decepticon tank?
*Nemesis Strika: Not going there...
*Scattorshot: Body based off of G1, but personality is similar to Cybertron. Or vice versa.
*Wing Saber: A-10 Warthog-like vehicle mode?
*Vector Prime: badass old geezer with a sword and Mini-con. YES!