Harmony Gold's Macross License confirmed to expire in 2021

Back in June a California court upheld a license agreement between Harmony Gold U.S.A. Inc. and Tatsunoko Production, confirming that Harmony Gold's license to The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada will expire on March 14, 2021. Harmony Gold also hold several trademarks related to Macross: Its trademark for the Macross series was renewed on December 26, 2012, so should expire on ten years from that date in 2022. However, the pending expiration of the licensing agreement could affect the trademark ownership before then.

This means that Harmony Gold can continue to make derivative works, including live-action adaptations, of all three titles until the license expires. However, all licenses and sublicenses will revert back to Tatsunoko in 2021, unless both parties extend the agreement. Harmony Gold still owns the title Robotech (the banner under which it released butchered versions of the Tatsunoko series) in perpetuity, but when its license expires it will no longer be able to use or exploit works that are derivative of those three anime titles.

The case relates to an age old argument over precisely what rights were, or were not, granted and just who has the rights over various aspects of the shows. It all began way back in 1984, when Harmony Gold heavily edited the three shows into its 85-episode Robotech series, released in 1985. This latest development is potentially good news for UK based Macross fans, as the mire surrounding the rights has meant there have been very few releases of anything Macross related here in the UK. It's an interesting but extremely complicated situation, if you want to learn more then follow the source link below.

Source: ANN