I just got off the phone with Sgt. Hack from US Wings, who called me concerning my latest order of Limited Edition "Adventurers" jacket, and my request for a certificate of authenticity (concerning the providence of the leather used)...
Basically, Sgt. Hack took 30 minutes out of his day to explain to me, in amazing detail, the situation at hand concerning Lucasfilms, the Indiana Jones license, Tony Nowak, Belstaff, the leather Paramount chose for the KOTCS, etc....It turns out, which I'm sure you are all aware of by now, Lucasfilms is one harsh son of a gun corporation.
To sum it all up, Belstaff has the license (even though they've never produced an Indy jacket before, much less for one of the 4 movies), and US Wings, Wested, G&B, and all the other producers of our beloved jackets can't use the name Indiana Jones or reference the new movie when talking about their jacket or they get totally screwed...heck, even Tony Nowak doesn't have the right to make the official jacket unless he gets a waiver from Lucasfilms that allows him to produce a limited amount.
The biggest problem I have is that guys like Sgt. Hack who actually have jackets in one or more of the films is denied of all rights to use the name! Not only are they denied, but threatened with unbelievable penalties if they do! If any produced is currently using the name Indiana Jones to advertise his jacket, that will change very soon. Lucasfilms is malicious when it comes to this issue; even to the extent that US Wings cannot provide any proof of the providence of the leather used in the limited edition jacket without getting absolutely tarred and feathered by Lucasfilms' attornies.
I'll end with a tribute to Sgt. Hack...the man calls ME up to explain this to me in full...he doesn't drop me some 1 sentence email, but instead he calls me in Birmingham and we have a 30 minute conversation (and he spoke quite highly of Michaelson by the way) where he talked to me like an old friend. Not only would I recommend doing business with US Wings because of their quality jackets, but because you don't find such good people in the business world anymore. Also, keep Searge in your prayers as he is still recovering from open heart surgery. God bless!
-Zack
US Wings - Sgt. Hack
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nicetrylaoche
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PyramidBlaster
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Michaelson
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Not sure myself, but from what little I WAS told regarding anything connected to the IJ franchise and the making of this film, vendors are treading very softly, so there's definitely fire behind the smoke we've been seeing over the past 8 months.ztmario wrote:what I don't understand is how can it be a violation to say "we made the jacket worn by harrison ford in (raiders of the lost ark, indiana jones and the temple of doom, etc.)". if it's true, then how can they get sued? I still can't grasp that.
I honestly wonder if it might have to do with the article posted here:
viewtopic.php?t=28603
Could be the reason for the protectionism we've seen lately.
Regards! Michaelson
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Bruce Wayne
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