I Had Either a Stupid or Engenius Idea.

[scarletjul]

I just don't see how they could've produced the retro Collector pony and Rainbow pony sets if they didn't still own the full rights to those characters.

And if they own the rights to those characters, I have to believe they would own the rights to all the other G1 characters--because the Collector ponies were their oldest MLP characters, so otherwise the copyright or trademark or whatever should have run out on them first.

Could someone who owns the retro Collector pony / Rainbow pony sets take a look at the back of the box?  I'm squinting at online images, but I THINK it says "All rights reserved" in the lower corner.

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I can't speak for the Rainbow ponies, but the retro re-releases say in the lower left hand corner:

(C) 2006, Hasbro, Pawtucket, RI 02862 USA.  All rights reserved.  TM & (R) denote US Trademarks.

The names of the ponies (Snuzzle, Blue Belle, etc) however have neither a (C) or a (TM) appearing next to them.

[Al-1701]

I think all rights reserved is meant as an exhaustive.  They own everything, the designs, the artwork, the logo, and the names.  It saves ink.

EDIT:  Looking at the old cards, they don't have all rights reserved.  They just have "TM" by all the names.

[hathorcat]

Those backcards always make me giggle [impolitely]..."Hey Windy...30 years and a few too many sugar cubes me thinks!"

[Al-1701]

I've seen complaints how the retro sets were a little more chunky than the originals.

It's too bad they didn't make retro sets of say the Twinkle Eyed and Movie Star ponies.  I would have bought them.

[hathorcat]

Its not so much the ponies - although they look odd enough as they are...its the artwork! Mind you I am appreciative of the attempt of G1!

I often wondered why they did the Rainbow set - AJ, Bow Tie, Firefly, etc would have been a more obvious set but hey the HB powers that be must have had a reason!

[Dragonflitter]

This thread is so awesome, it raises so many questions for thought!

I never would have thought companies would use (tm) rather than (R) just because (tm) is more recognizable to the public! Oh, how we work in strange ways sometimes!

[babystarz]

Here is my understanding/theory of the trademarks:

Hasbro DID copyright the original MLP's, but there are different types of trademarks and patent copyrights based on what you plan to do with a concept or name or whatever. This is where Hasbro presumably did not foresee 30 years into the future and think that they might want full media copyrights with exclusive rights for all of the old MLP's. They only registered them for a few specific ponies like Applejack. Now that so much time has gone by, they are not able to register those copyrights now that they want them, I guess there must be a deadline that lapsed. So that's partly why Hasbro can't use most of the G1's as real characters now; they wouldn't be able to have stringent patents attached to them.

Here is an answer I found about two of the types of patents:

"The R-in-a-circle means that the trademark is registered with the United States Patent & Trademark Office.  That involves filing an application with a fee, and establishing that the owner is entitled to exclusive use of the mark in connection with particular goods and services.  One may not use the R-in-a-circle sign without a registration.

A "TM" designation just means that the user of the trademark asserts that the word, phrase, design, or whatever it is, is a trademark owned by the user.  Anyone can assert that anything is their trademark, but that does not necessarily mean that the user has exclusive rights.  Federal and state trademark law protects many unregistered trademarks from confusion.  But, an unregistered trademark is not subject to the same presumptions and legal protections and a registered trademark."

[Al-1701]

They could get registered trademarks, but they would have to start from scratch which can get expensive when you have hundreds of ponies to worry about.  Applejack is registered because there was a G3 Applejack (which looks like Big Macintosh.)  I have to wonder if they're registering them slowly as we see more G1 products trickle in.

[Mermaid]

I was searching the data base the other night for the data base thread. The only G1 items that were listed at "Dead" were Dream Castle, Show Stable, and The Water Fall. Which means they might still hold the rights to the other characters. However I did not find any G1 names on the "Live" list either...

This is what I found:

Old names but still live:
Amberlocks
Rainbow Flash
Star Swirl
Daisy Jo
Sunny Daze
Apple Jack
Cup Cake
Scootaloo
Sweet Belle
Star Song
Heart Bright
Star Flight
Sew and So
Cheerilee
Rarity The Unicorn
Crystal Princess
Brights Brightly
Baby Alive
Rainbow Swirl
Frilly Frocks
Rainbow Wishes
Breezie
Coconut Cream
Desert Rose
Sky Wishes
Toola Roola
Sweet Breeze
Cinnamon Breeze
Golden Delicious
Flippity Flop
Island Rainbow
Strawberry Reef
Gardenia Glow
June Bug
Beach Berry
Shenanigans
Sapphire Shores
Peachy Pie
Ribbon Wishes
Strawberry Swirl
Fluttershy
MLP
Ponyville
Rainbow Dash
Pinkie Pie

Dead Marks:
Apple Jack (I am assuming it's the g3 version!)
Rainbow Falls
Rainbow Meadows
Daisy Meadows
Cherry Blossom
Baby Sundance
Breezie Dreams
Crystal Rainbow Castle
Spike The Dragon
Whistle Wishes
Silver Glow
Zipzee
Tiddly Wink
Tra La La
Royal Bouquet
Tulip Twinkle
Green Apple
Bon Apetite
Bumble Berry
Dainty Daisy
Lulabelle
Misty Mornings
Tripsy Daisy
Peachie Keen
Dibble Dabble
Wing Wishes
Light Heart
Dream Blue
Sundance
Wild Blue
Scootin Along
Tropical Surprise
Whistle Toe
Island Surprise
Island Delight
Desert Palm
Cloud Climber
Cactus Flower
Sharing Tea
Sea Scape
Sand Dollar
Sweet Reflections
Grand Finale
Round N Round
Musical Wishes
Tangerine Sunset
Lolligiggle
Beach Comber
Ice Dancing
Pudding Pie
Picnicity
Paradise Palms
Lavender Lake
Skip To My Lou
Bright Night
Fair Weather
Apple Spice
Twilight Twinkle
Always & Forever
Darling Dahlia
Sky Dancer
Bunches O Fun
Citrus Sweetheart
Coconut Grove
Alphabittle
Merriweather
Bow Tie
Magic Marigold
Silver Lining
Silly Sunshine
Denim Blue
Desert Blossom
Rose Blossom
Pick A Lily
Marshmallow Coco
Cloud Puff
Romerrooni
Smitten
Sparkle Snap
Abra Cadabra
Wind Drifter
Pretty Powder
Glitter Glide
Spring Breeze
Triple Treat
Wind Wisher
Sunny Salsa
Coconut Kisses
Scooter Sprite
Snow El
Honey Dew
Porto Bella
Lickety Split
La Di Da
Mistle Toe
Flutter Butter
Kiwi Tart
Sea Spray
Serendipity
Rainbow Sherbet
Song Star
Waterfire
Tropical Magic
Wish Catcher
Winter Berry
Wishy Wings
Tropical Delight
Sunshimmer
Valenshy
Wing Wisher
Wondermint
Star Dasher
Starbeam
Heather Winds
Angel Dove
Silver Slippers
Cabana Rain
Blushing Blue
Butterfly Surprise
Ringlette
Dazzle My Magical Talking Pony - 1994
I stopped at page like 45...Sorry!