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Posted: **Thu Apr 08, 2021 8:19 pm**

https://robotech.com/news/big-west-co.- ... -worldwide

BIG WEST CO. LTD., STUDIO NUE, INC. AND HARMONY GOLD U.S.A. ANNOUNCE EXPANSIVE AGREEMENT FOR THE FUTURE OF ROBOTECH AND MACROSS WORLDWIDE!
April 9, 2021 - Tokyo, Japan & Los Angeles, California - Landmark agreement between the anime companies will allow immediate international distribution of most Macross television sequels and films, while affirming Harmony Gold’s rights to the Robotech franchise. Both companies will cooperate on the international distribution of future Macross and Robotech projects post 2021.
Tokyo based BIGWEST CO. LTD. and Los Angeles based Harmony Gold U.S.A. announced an agreement regarding the worldwide rights for the legendary Macross and Robotech franchises. This expansive agreement signed by both companies on March 1, 2021, ends two decades of disagreements and will allow Big West and Harmony Gold to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential of both the Macross and Robotech franchises worldwide.
The landmark agreement immediately permits worldwide distribution of most of the Macross films and television sequels worldwide, and also confirms that Big West will not oppose the Japanese release of an anticipated upcoming live-action Robotech film. The agreement also recognizes Harmony Gold’s longstanding exclusive license with Tatsunoko for the use of the 41 Macross characters and mecha in the Robotech television series and related merchandise throughout the world excluding Japan.
Moving forward, both parties will cooperate on distribution regarding future Macross and Robotech projects for the benefit of both franchises.
Big West Representative Director, Kaya Onishi added, “Stories that feature Valkyries, a transformable realistic mecha, in action among the galaxies while diva's sing in the background, as well as love triangles involving the pilots and singers. That was and continues to be the concept behind the Macross series, and I am happy that I can now help bring Macross to people all over the world on the 40th anniversary of the series. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Harmony Gold Chairman, Frank Agrama for his courageous decision in this matter.”
Harmony Gold USA Chairman, Frank Agrama stated, “This is an incomparably historic moment for both Harmony Gold and Big West and the anime industry overall. This is also an exciting moment for fans of Robotech and Macross worldwide. I thank my friend, Big West Representative Director, Kaya Onishi for her hard work to help us reach this long-desired resolution that protects both of our franchises while building a better tomorrow for both our companies.”

i suspect that Sony's legal team helped get these two parties to work out an agreement.. likely as part of untangling some of the legal mess the Robotech Live Action Film would have generated.

Posted: **Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:03 pm**

Yeah, it's almost like Sony might know what it's doing when it came to picking up a movie licence.

Posted: **Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:11 pm**

Harmony Gold bent the knee.

Honestly, I expected that this was coming after Harmony Gold requested to open negotiations with Big West after losing its grip on the Macross trademarks in practically every key market outside of the United States. What I didn't expect was for a resolution to emerge so quickly. I'd have expected it to take years for Harmony Gold to come to any kind of agreement with Big West after losing nearly all of the trademarks they were using to stonewall Macross licensing. They've gone for exactly the endgame I predicted they'd try for... becoming a global distribution partner for Macross, the way Star Blazers "owners" decided to back off their claims and become a distributor for the rest of Space Battleship Yamato.

This is, in all likelihood, effectively where Robotech dies. Harmony Gold is unlikely to have any interest in continuing the series now that they can effectively just profit from managing distribution of the Macross franchise outside of Japan... something they've wanted since the early 2000s. It sounds like HG has effectively ceded partial control over Robotech to Big West as well.

glitterboy2098 wrote:i suspect that Sony's legal team helped get these two parties to work out an agreement.. likely as part of untangling some of the legal mess the Robotech Live Action Film would have generated.

Unlikely. Sony Pictures was not a party to the trademark dispute in which Harmony Gold requested to enter direct negotiations with Big West. We have the court records to show that much.

Posted: **Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:12 pm**

looking forward to seeing the Macross sequels finally coming over properly.. though i hope that BigWest isn't forced to let HG do the dubbing.
though i suspect Macross 7 will be late in appearing, since its music rights issue is.. complicated.

Posted: **Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:17 pm**

glitterboy2098 wrote:looking forward to seeing the Macross sequels finally coming over properly.. though i hope that BigWest isn't forced to let HG do the dubbing.

Harmony Gold doesn't do its own dubbing anymore. They haven't for decades.

An English dub would be done by sublicensing to a US distributor like Funimation.

glitterboy2098 wrote:though i suspect Macross 7 will be late in appearing, since its music rights issue is.. complicated.

Not as such. The issue when the series was new was one of cost, not complexity. The record label wanted prospective licensees to pick up the rights to Fire Bomber's entire catalog, not just the songs in the series proper. That effectively priced it out of reach of any actual distributor. Nowadays, the music rights will be much cheaper because of the show's age, and it's unlikely the label will try to force a licensee to acquire the entire Fire Bomber catalog.

Posted: **Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:41 pm**

Maybe I will now be able to get the DVDs or Blue rays of the macross series and movies here in the US.

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