The mess with Harmony Gold is over...thank heavens. We do not know what the terms of any settlement are, and we may never know, as these things are not often revealed to the public. But, in any event, it appears that both sides fought each other to a bloody draw. As far as I am concerned, this is a win for Battletech.
Why is this?
1. The matter has been dismissed "with prejudice" which basically means in legalese that Harmony Gold cannot bring it up again, this alone is a victory, and with HG losing the rights to Robotech in 2021, it seems that this will probably be the last of this we will ever hear.
2. Again, while I do not know what the terms of the settlement were, I suspect HG was mollified with a set amount of money, and both sides paid their own lawyers. If HG and their partisans are calling this a win, I suspect it was a phyrric one, I don't think that if it went to trial, they would have gotten what they did from a settlement, and I suspect PGI didn't want to spend the money quashing this legal challenge. I suspect both sides found the settlement cheaper overall.
3. So what does this mean for the Unseen? I really don't know. The terms of the settlement, as I said, will probably never see the light of day, but I suspect we will know soon if the Unseen/Reseen will be back or dead as a doornail. Like many Battletech fans, I do want them back, but it's really up to the parties involved to negotiate what they did, we just have to live with the results.
4. The good news overall? A legal bugbear that has dogged the franchise since the 1990s is now well and truly put to bed. That alone is cause for celebration.
For all those interested in reading the decision for themselves, you can find the decision in it's entirety here.
***UPDATE***
More information on the fate of the Unseens/Reseens has come out. This from Russ Bullock of PGI:
If this is correct, this is guardedly good news. I say guardedly because well, this applies to PGI, I don't know what the stipulations for IMR/CGL might be?
***UPDATE***
This story is moving fast, it appears that the settlement also applies to IMR/CGL as well. So yes, the Unseen/Reseen are safe to come out and play again.
Why is this?
1. The matter has been dismissed "with prejudice" which basically means in legalese that Harmony Gold cannot bring it up again, this alone is a victory, and with HG losing the rights to Robotech in 2021, it seems that this will probably be the last of this we will ever hear.
2. Again, while I do not know what the terms of the settlement were, I suspect HG was mollified with a set amount of money, and both sides paid their own lawyers. If HG and their partisans are calling this a win, I suspect it was a phyrric one, I don't think that if it went to trial, they would have gotten what they did from a settlement, and I suspect PGI didn't want to spend the money quashing this legal challenge. I suspect both sides found the settlement cheaper overall.
3. So what does this mean for the Unseen? I really don't know. The terms of the settlement, as I said, will probably never see the light of day, but I suspect we will know soon if the Unseen/Reseen will be back or dead as a doornail. Like many Battletech fans, I do want them back, but it's really up to the parties involved to negotiate what they did, we just have to live with the results.
4. The good news overall? A legal bugbear that has dogged the franchise since the 1990s is now well and truly put to bed. That alone is cause for celebration.
For all those interested in reading the decision for themselves, you can find the decision in it's entirety here.
***UPDATE***
More information on the fate of the Unseens/Reseens has come out. This from Russ Bullock of PGI:
If this is correct, this is guardedly good news. I say guardedly because well, this applies to PGI, I don't know what the stipulations for IMR/CGL might be?
***UPDATE***
This story is moving fast, it appears that the settlement also applies to IMR/CGL as well. So yes, the Unseen/Reseen are safe to come out and play again.
WOW, really hope we see the unseen come out. Glad that this has finally come to an end. Cheers for the write up.
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