HASCON is coming?
There’s been a lot of speculation over the fate of the annual Joe Con after it was revealed that Hasbro was ending its relationship with Fun Publications, the company that licensed the annual Botcon (Transformers) and Joe Con (G.I. Joe ) events. Many fans wondered if there would even continue to be annual Hasbro-authorized events. Over the past weekend, Hasbro filed a trademark with the US Patent Office that might shed some light on the future of these brand events.
Thanks to the intrepid newshounds over at TFwiki, it was revealed that Hasbro officially filed for the trademark on “HASCON”. The purpose of this trademark, according to the trademark office filing is:
Organizing and conducting conventions, exhibitions, fan clubs and gatherings for entertainment purposes and in the fields of toys, animation, comic books, fantasy, gaming, popular culture, science fiction, television and film.
It’s not a lot of information but it shows that Hasbro is at least intending to move forward in some fashion with a continuation of conventions. What’s more interesting, at least to this Joe fan, is that this appears to be the only trademark filed. There’s nothing for any derivation of “Joe Con”, “Bot Con” or even “Pony Con”. (Say what you will– but the Pony fandom is HUGE.)
With only one seemingly comprehensive trademark filed is Hasbro testing the waters at having events that showcase all of their brands in one place? Or is this merely a preemptive measure designed to secure a copyright before anyone else files for it? Right now, we have very little information to go on. However, it’s also way too soon to jump to any detailed conclusions. Joe Con 2016 is scheduled for the end of June and I doubt any formal announcement would be made before that even has concluded.
What do you think of this development? Would you be in favor of more unified Hasbro brand events? Would you rather have your conventions separated by product line? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.
