Anime News Network is reporting that a Japanese court has ruled that Harmony Gold, which has had US rights to Macross since 1984, cannot sell or license any further Macross merchandise.  According to the report, the ruling held that 'Tatsunoko, the Japanese company that originally sold the Macross license to Harmony Gold, did not own the Macross license' and hence could not sell the rights to Harmony Gold.  According to the ruling, the company that created Macross, Big West, was the true owner of the international Macross rights.  Also according to the report, the Robotech Macross Saga, a hybrid creation of Harmony Gold's Carl Macek from largely unrelated Japanese material, is unaffected. 

 

Macross and Robotech have been important science fiction anime properties in the US since the mid-eighties, when they were first introduced to US audiences by Harmony Gold.  Both Macross and Robotech videos are currently available in the US, and the Robotech DVDs have made regular appearances on ICv2's Top 10 Cool Anime list over the past year, often at the top of the list.  If there is a shake-up in the rights for either or both of these properties, it is going to affect a number of anime and toy producers in the US.  Stay tuned for details.