South Korean media franchise
| Turning Mecard |
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 |
| Original work | Toys |
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| Owner | Sonokong |
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| Film(s) | Turning Mecard W: The Revival of Black Mirror |
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| Animated series | Turning Mecard
Turning Mecard W
Turning Mecard R
Dino Mecard
Ghost Mecard
Bbasha Mecard |
|---|
| Television special(s) | Turning Mecard W: The Secret of Van Dine |
|---|
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| Toy(s) | Turning Mecard |
|---|
Turning Mecard (Korean: 터닝메카드, a transliteration), released as Mecard in the United States, is a South Korean toyline and media franchise launched in 2014, developed for toy company Sonokong by Choirock (Sonokong's multimedia production arm). The toyline involves a model car that, using a card, transforms into an animal-shaped mecha.
Outside South Korea, it is marketed and distributed by American company Mattel, which formed a partnership with Sonokong and acquired a 12% equity stake in the South Korean company in 2016.[1][2]
Outside South Korea
Outside South Korea, Mattel is handling sales and distribution of Turning Mecard, as a result of a partnership deal the American company had with Sonokong in 2016; specifically, Choirock (Sonokong's multimedia production arm) granted a worldwide license of Turning Mecard to Mattel, and Mattel acquired a 12% equity stake in Sonokong, becoming the largest shareholder of the South Korean company.[1][2][7]
Prior to the Mattel deal, Lingdong distributed the toyline within Mainland China under license. Later, Lingdong released a similar toyline named Eonster Hunter to replace Turning Mecard in its line-up.
Reception
The toyline became a fad in its native South Korea, helping propel Sonokong's stock price from KRW 2,980 to a peak of KRW 8,750 in 2015.[8] The brand accounted for roughly 80% of the company's record-breaking KRW 125 billion revenue that year.[9] However, by 2017 sales for Mecard toys had slowed significantly.[10]
Criticism and controversy
Similarities with Bakugan
Sonokong was the distributor and license holder of Bakugan toyline and media franchise within South Korea.[11] Japanese writer Atsushi Maekawa worked as the head writer of both Bakugan and Mecard animated series.[12]
Spin Master, a Canadian toy company which co-developed Bakugan with Sega Toys in Japan, launched a series of lawsuits against Choirock and Mattel, alleging that the Mecard toys infringe Spin Master's patents related to the Bakugan toys. Spin Master brought the case against Choirock to a court in Mainland China in 2016, but lost in the first trial, and lost again in the second trial in March 2019.[13]
Separately, Spin Master sued Mattel (which distributes Mecard toys outside South Korea and Mainland China) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California over the alleged infringement (which the Canadian company confirmed in a press release published on 25 April 2018).[14][15][16] This and other lawsuits filed against Mattel in Canada and Mexico are still ongoing as of January 2019.[17][18][19]
Spin Master's legal actions came as Bakugan was given a reboot in 2019, and it follows similar moves made by the Canadian company against Chinese toy manufacturers.[14][15][16]
