Ask John: Can Harmony Gold Hinder Japanese Macross Video Releases?

Question:
To what lengths can Harmony Gold go to stop Japan from putting English subtitles on their Macross products? With the last Macross Plus bluray release in Japan we got a (bad) Engrish subtitle track along with a pre-recorded dub that English speaking fans could finally import and understand (the old Manga release dub). But now it looks like the upcoming Macross Frontier “30th Shooting Star” box set will include English subtitles that will be created by English speaking fans of the show who know how to correctly translate subtitles that aren’t hard to follow. I even heard that these same people (possibly fansubbers?) had even volunteered their services to Bandai Namco to put an English track on the recent “Do You Remember Love?” bluray release (they weren’t allowed, but the idea was there and got the ball rolling).

So, as a long time Macross fan, knowing that Bandai Namco is finally testing the waters of placing English subtitles on their releases, I’m worried about what Harmony Gold might try/might get away with to stop this from happening. How can English speaking fans fight back against them? Does it look like Bandai Namco might even consider furthering the release of English subtitles on their discs for all Macross titles (past and future ones to come)? Would Harmony Gold even have a chance of stopping English subtitles being put in Macross releases when it’s done directly in Japan?

Answer:
Particularly now that amateur director Cesar A. Turturoo has formally released the first ten minutes of his developing Robotech: Project Valkyrie fan film, a lot of fan discussion has resurrected revolving what, if any, involvement Harmony Gold USA could interject into Macross productions and releases. According to a statement from Harmony Gold spokesperson Kevin McKeever last year, Harmony Gold is the, “legal rights/co-copyright/trademark holder for Macross outside of Japan.” Therefore, presumably, Harmony Gold has no legal position to influence the releases of any Macross anime within Japan, even if such Japanese releases end up being purchased by international consumers. However, while Harmony Gold can’t prevent Bandai Namco from releasing English-friendly Macross home video in Japan, Harmony Gold would have a legal option to block the official distribution of such home video releases in countries other than Japan.

Since Harmony Gold’s master license grants control over the Macross franchise globally, the company could theoretically object to creators Cesar A. Turturoo & Jorge Luis Sucksdorf’s Robotech fan film and stop the production. Argentina does not have a legal fair use clause, thus these Argentinian film makers are not enabled to make any sort of “homage” movie under the auspices of free speech. Since the Robotech: Project Valkyrie project appears to be a non-profit endeavour and has been in development for three years, so far, without legal objection, fans can only hope that Harmony Gold, along with Japan’s Studio Nue and Tatsunoko, continue to be as magnanimous as they’ve been so far toward the Argentinian fan film.