Faulconer Productions Reorganization

[cRookie_Monster]

VVVVV
http://www.freecourtdockets.com/dockets ... -82983.htm
^^^^
I was actually searching for more info on this:
http://www.legalmetric.com/cases/copyri ... 01223.html

when I ran across that first link.

[Castor Troy]

Whoah, what happened between FUNi and Faulconer that caused them to go to court?

FUNi must have really wanted to burn the bridge with Faulconer.

[Coycoy88]

I had no idea they were literally going bankrupt. O_o; There seems to be quite a lot of tension between Faulconer and Funimation, concerning the dub music. All this legal drama, ugh.

[cRookie_Monster]

Whoah, what happened between FUNi and Faulconer that caused them to go to court?

FUNi must have really wanted to burn the bridge with Faulconer.

From the site:

Basis: 17:101 Copyright Infringement

Oh wow, I found more (consolidating, two of them were near identical, this page has more info)

http://www.getfilings.com/o0000950134-05-011970.html

Faulconer Productions Music Corp. v. FUNimation Productions, Inc. et al.

Faulconer Productions Music Corporation (FPMC) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on September 24, 2003 alleging that FUNimation Productions, Ltd. and certain other defendants fraudulently induced it to enter into contracts pursuant to which FUNimation had commissioned it to compose music for certain television episodes. FPMC also claims that it owns all copyrights in the music and that FUNimation has infringed upon its music copyrights. FPMC is asserting state law claims for fraudulent inducement, fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, conspiracy to commit fraud, and a host of similar claims related to a proposed settlement agreement related to this case. FPMC seeks damages of approximately $13.0 million.

FUNimation instituted an action against FPMC and Bruce Faulconer, a principle of FPMC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. These two cases were consolidated in the Eastern District of Texas. FUNimation asserts claims for trademark and copyright infringement, passing off, and breach of contract. Actual damages have not yet been calculated. FUNimation also seeks attorneys’ fees on the copyright infringement and contract claims and in connection with the defense of FPMC’s copyright infringement claims.

FUNimation has filed a motion to dismiss all fraud-based, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, negligent misrepresentation, and negligence claims. Additionally, this motion to dismiss seeks the dismissal of all claims relating to the individual defendants. FPMC’s response to this motion to dismiss is due on June 28, 2005.

We intend to vigorously defend against the claims asserted against FUNimation and to pursue our claims. Because of the status of the proceeding and the contingencies and uncertainties associated with litigation, it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict a result in this proceeding.

In light of recent developments, I'm guessing he never got his 13 mil.

OMG it gets even better...no wonder Faulconer can't release any more music....
http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/EFX ... HHAD_DPiP7

Faulconer Productions Music Corp. v. FUNimation Productions, Inc. et al .
...(same as above)... FPMC seeks damages of approximately $24.6 million, plus unspecified actual and exemplary damages to be determined at trial.
FUNimation instituted an action against FPMC and Bruce Faulconer, a principle of FPMC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. These two cases were consolidated in the Eastern District of Texas. FUNimation asserts claims for trademark and copyright infringement, passing off, breach of contract, and fraudulent inducement related to the above-mentioned proposed settlement agreement. FUNimation seeks penalties of $47.3 million for copyright infringement, or a trial-determined

found the end of it:
http://markets.financialcontent.com/sto ... 3406002339

FUNimation sought penalties of $47.3 million for copyright infringement, or a trial-determined amount for disgorgement of profits, whichever was higher. FUNimation also sought attorneys’ fees on the copyright infringement and contract claims and in connection with the defense of FPMC’s copyright infringement claims.
This case was settled on December 21, 2005. Under the terms of the settlement, FPMC has received a payment of $680,000 and the parties have provided one another with a release of all claims in the litigation

But he's said he can't release any more material...so I'm a little confused by the outcome. I get the feeling he doesn't own the copyright still, but he was able to get some compensation for something..?

Actually, I think what happened is Bruce sued them for the rights to the music, they counter sued for copyright infringement. They both spent tons of money in court and ended up settling with Bruce coming slightly ahead somehow. It said they dropped all claims...so probably things returned to the way they were before. Funimation owns the music, Bruce sells it and gets money, but can't start releasing additional material anymore.

btw in 2006(the next year) it looks like he nearly lost his studio:
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/texas/ ... 098/95602/

Ah looks like his *studio* is still running, which is probably a separate legal entity.
http://www.myvoiceoverguy.com/voiceover ... mmercials/

Advanced/Working Pro Master Class:
“Are You As Good As Your Demo?”
Sunday, Feb. 13th, 2011, 10A-6P
at Cakemix Recording

[Coycoy88]

My dream of the unreleased tracks getting a release in the future is getting more and more Grim. :'( Why is Funimation being so damn stingy with the FP music? They act as if the world would end if they would of let Faulconer release more tracks. Funi and FP were fightng each other with the whole tug-o-war "NO, IT'S MINE!... NUH UH, IT'S MINE!" routine as if they were small children. :/ In the end, neither party really care about what the fans want, just the amount of money that make/are making. Typical company greed.

[cRookie_Monster]

Was just reading up on bankruptcy to see what it meant for Faulconer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy

Chapter 11: rehabilitation or reorganisation, used primarily by business debtors, but sometimes by individuals with substantial debts and assets; known as corporate bankruptcy, it is a form of corporate financial reorganisation which typically allows companies to continue to function while they follow debt repayment plans

So he's likely still in business then, his was chapter 11.

[xzero]

Bankruptcy for corporations generally doesn't mean they're out of business, though this is a common misconception. Often, a bankruptcy filing means they can't pay bills they have to pay, so they file in order to eliminate some debt. It will usually mean a restructuring of the business to some extent, but they can continue operating, at least for a time.

That said, what's the last thing FPM did? Besides CDs, they really seemed to drop off the map after the Kid Buu Saga ended.

[Fionordequester]

http://faulconer.com/ernor/ernor.html

Here you go. It's an animated series called Ernor, which as far as I can tell, is sort of like "Land Before Time", but with our heroes being talking housepets instead of dinosaurs.

[cRookie_Monster]

Edit, actually nm ^^

[Fionordequester]

By the way Scott Morgan, I found out where I got the idea that Bruce Faulconer did the score for Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug. It's on the FaulconerProductions website, in the "Composer Profile" segment...

Other commissioned works composed by Faulconer include film scores (Scenes in the Dark, Lebensborn, Lord Slug: DragonBall Z)

So...yeah, I dunno, maybe he "did the score for it" the same way he "did ALL of the music of Dragon Ball Z". There were one or two songs from the main series in there amidst all of the generic, badly placed rock in that movie, so maybe he somehow counted that as something he did?

Whoah, what happened between FUNi and Faulconer that caused them to go to court?

I believe Bruce also got really angry with FUNImation for not getting Dragon Ball GT, emailed everyone who had ever emailed him concerning their opinions of the dub music (yes, even negative criticism) to flood the inbox of the FUNI executives to oust Mark Menza, and then got into trouble because of that. Not sure whether that has anything to do with this particular court case, but, that also was something that happened.

[kei17]

Reading through the topics about the Faulconer productions, now I wonder; What pieces did Bruce compose by himself?

[Fionordequester]

Reading through the topics about the Faulconer productions, now I wonder; What pieces did Bruce compose by himself?

The ones I know he composed for sure are the opening theme for the FUNI dub, the closing theme, "Ginyu Transformation" and Bulma's Theme. I think he probably also composed the Goku vs. Jeice and Ginyu theme as well as the Vegeta vs. Frieza theme, just based on me listening to them a bit.

[TVfan721]

This whole thread is confusing as fuck.

[GS7X7]

I remember hearing years ago that Faulconer was angry that he wasn't used for the DBGT's dub music (and for DBZ Movie 6) but that was the only bad blood I was ever aware of. DBZ got Faulconer a lot of money and fame, I'm surprised he'd duke it out with Funi.

[Trixen]

I think Bruce just seems like a difficult man for anyone to work with, it seems he just wants more and more money, and that's what ruining everything. If anything, his actions seem to show he cares less about art, and more about money, which is stupid if you think about it because maintaining a good relationship with FUNI would be very profitable. Now, he has ruined his reputation, and burned his bridges, seems like karma to me.

[Fionordequester]

It's really a shame if you ask me. Someone here has a Scott Morgan quote in his signature all about how even though Scott disliked his ways, he was an incredible composer who could easily outdo Shunsuke given the right opportunities, but I seriously question whether he would actually do that even with the right opportunities, or just put in a half baked effort out of laziness and pretentiousness (unless of course, he were composing and playing in front of a live audience).

[cRookie_Monster]

It's really a shame if you ask me. Someone here has a Scott Morgan quote in his signature all about how even though Scott disliked his ways, he was an incredible composer who could easily outdo Shunsuke given the right opportunities, but I seriously question whether he would actually do that even with the right opportunities, or just put in a half baked effort out of laziness and pretentiousness (unless of course, he were composing and playing in front of a live audience).

FYI of the 3 of us (Julius, Mike, and myself) I'm the only one who actually thinks Bruce can write ^^. Mike's point of view is Bruce can't come up with anything original, I could agree with that...but I might not be any better lol. I dunno, I'm probably the darker in tone of the 3 of us, and I think dark style is 's Bruce's strong suite. I totally geek out when I hear those dissonances. It's something that's bred into people who do a lot of composition study in universities.

Anyway given the chance, I think Bruce could write some really fancy stuff that would impress someone like me who understands what goes behind a more complicated work with interesting harmonies..but sometimes that kinda stuff doesn't have the same effect on the average listener. Its can be a little like listening to bebop jazz music..so many notes and complex chords...but you can emulate it by confidently mashing random notes on a keyboard and almost sound the same to a non-trained ear.

Oh and given the opportunity with a live orchestra I bet he would work his tail off, mainly because he doesn't get to do that kinda work often these days I don't think.

[Lord Exor]

Anyway given the chance, I think Bruce could write some really fancy stuff that would impress someone like me who understands what goes behind a more complicated work with interesting harmonies..but sometimes that kinda stuff doesn't have the same effect on the average listener. Its can be a little like listening to bebop jazz music..so many notes and complex chords...but you can emulate it by confidently mashing random notes on a keyboard and almost sound the same to a non-trained ear.

If it has a cogent melody and a direction, then I think it shouldn't come across as mindless racket to anyone. Now, something like dubstep that protracts the duration of what is essentially noise would fall under that category.

[cRookie_Monster]

I hear ya, but for me to enjoy music they don't necessarily have to have either of those things ^^

[GS7X7]

I also remember that when it was announced Faulconer wasn't going to do GT's music that BF gave out the e-mail addresses of several top execs at Funi and asked his fans to e-mail them asking them to hire Faulconer again. (according to a friend of Sonny Strait's on his old website, Funi wasn't amused about this at all)

....

Actually, why did they replace Faulconer anyway for GT? Faulconer actually does have some good catchy tunes but Menza's music for GT was literally complete garbage. (I'm not joking, I know I've complained about Faulconer's music in the past before but it's not that bad and it honestly sounds like the London Symphony Orchestra compared to Menza)

I know Jon Allen once said something about Funimation being happy with Menza's performance with DBZ Movie 6 (which had good music) but Menza never really ever hit that level of quality again.