MarkM wrote:
Since this has been answered, I'm going to go off on a tangent: I always liked getting "Joe" weapons and accessories with The Corps! figures when I was a kid. Back then, I always assumed they just 'stole' the things from Hasbro by cutting molds off of existing product. Now I wonder if they licensed from Hasbro, sort of like Olmec did. Does anyone know the answer?
Typically, Lanard or other company would skirt the infringement issue by modifying the pack slightly. I have black Flint and Footloose backpacks that have the molded grenades redacted out. It's enough of a modification to avoid a straight copy infringement. If you look at these packs, both have molded circles on the bottom underneath the tanks that are not present on the Hasbro mold.
You wouldn't think that would be enough of a difference to avoid any legal entaglements. But, Lanard and other companies did it with enough accessories that it likely was.