@matthey


Quote:

Are the numbers in the first column the current financial values for the business (numbers in parenthesis being negative numbers)?

If the numbers are in parenthesis they are negative. Yes, it's very confusing, but I think this is one of the things that accountants rely on as "job security".

I have some accounting background myself, and I have never really liked this way of doing it. It's to make it more compact, one line and one column, and parenthesis more noticeable than a minus sign that when on paper can be made into a plus...

Quote:

Were the assets already transferred to the new Ben Hermans BV?

The books are up to date with Belgian law until 2021. For the fiscal years 2022 are 2023 missing. And this is the most likely reason that they're in this situation.

If any assets are misappropriated it's most likely happened after fiscal year 2021 as books are fairly easy to see trends in.

Intangible assets are amongst many things the intellectual property rights. Logos, trademarks, source code and such. That's where you'll find their games, OS4 etc.

So what's worth noticing is the company structure.

Hyperion Entertainment CVBA is a company in a "consortium" (as we would classify it in Norway) under Ben Hermans BVBA.



From this perspective it makes sense that two years of missing fiscal reports has the government go to the courts to file for bankruptcy proceedings.

I have no idea how easy it is to get out of it for them since this is the second time (2015 last time, but I don't know if it was the same reason).

Hypothesis from how it is in Norway
Now, in theory if Hyperion had it's books in order and timely submitted it would only be Ben Hermans BVBA that would be in real trouble. The administrator would only look after Hyperion while the entity being dissolved is processed. This is what happened in Norway when Toys'R'Us went bust. US mother company went belly up, the Norwegian branch was doing well and was well managed so it was "in a way unaffected", but the control that the US entity had previously held was sold off.

For Hyperion it looks quite more bleak. This is because their books are also late as with the mother company, so I don't think that they're legally insulated from the problems that Ben Hermans BVBA finds itself in.

The books as per 2021 while were in no way "great" or "sound" were clearly trending downwards. Diminishing turnover, same expenditures and writing off the assets.

This leads me to my next point. When companies don't turn in their books in a timely manner there are usually a few well known reasons.

If the company is big (think Fisker Inc) then it's because they're about to go belly up and all the money are gone and they're desperately trying to find finances or some accounting technicality that can save them from having to admit insolvency and file for voluntary bankruptcy.

For small companies I often see that it's life that catches up with the key person or the only person in the company. Notice that both companies, both Ben Hermans BVBA and Hyperion Entertainment CVBE have no employees.

Life can be old age and the inability to execute the executive duties, or severe illness or even death.

I haven't followed the "Amiga Drama" closely and are hesitant to take sides or call anyone "crooks or criminals", my observation from my own life as a small business owner is that various people consider different things "okay" to do in business. They be morally questionable to others, but not necessarily illegal in the eyes of the law.

From my experience, I think Ben Hermans isn't able to run the companies. I believe De Moor Bart have been tasked by the court to get the financial statement in order, and if there's assets left after Ben Hermans BVBA then sell it off to anyone who will bid for it.

In Norway Ben Hermans could have a court ruling that he's not allowed any longer to serve as an executive officer in the company, even if the company is viable and not insolvent after the process, he would then need to nominate someone for the court to approve.

In any country these processes are extremely complicated and long, I would venture to guess a year or two at least.

For my part, I'm having a hard time to cheer and eat popcorn from this installment in the saga.

I feel bad for people like Camilla Boemann who is having a good time while participating in a labor of love.

I'm feeling sorry for myself who now have to live in uncertainty if I get to have more updates from that team.

And I even feel sad for Ben, even if he's done immoral or even criminal acts as members here accuse him of or allude to, because for all I know he's sick old and frail and unable to give the people who work for free for him consise information as to whats happening.

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@arnljot

afaik Ben is still active partner at:

Artes Law

I have not seen anything regarding referral of his clients to another attorney at the firm.

#6

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It's a theoretical possibility that they're not insolvent, just incapable. The court could then remove Ben Hermans as executive officer and put someone else in charge.

But looking at the books now in more standard format I think that Hyperion Entertainment went into "negative capital" in 2022. The accumulated losses had "eaten up all the capital" and they didn't file their books because Ben was probably looking for ways to save the company.

So on the assets side Hyperion has some 700 euros in cash, some 26000 euros due from customers or something like that and the rest are "intangible assets" (software they're the rights holders to and trademarks etc).

On the other hand to "balance this out" there's some 417000 euro in capital that's "bound in the company". This isn't cash necessarily, it could also be equipment or a mortgage on his house or what ever that Belgian law allows.

The company also has nearly 400000 euro in accumulated losses. This is the big one.

The rest is 221000 in debts, probably public taxes and fees. 8000 in customer prepayments. Nearly 13000 in something I have no clue what is.

You can look at the details that I posted at amibay.

So if you put the nearly 400 up against the 417 in initial capital, then there wasn't much left of the bound capital at the exit of 2021.

One can speculate that it didn't add up in 2022...

After penalties and fees from administrator and the court, it'll be quite the Easter resurrections if Bens pulls another return from bankruptcy this time.

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@arnljot

The accounts might be an easier read for some here:

Hyperion Entertainment CVBA

Ben Hermans BVBA

These numbers have been discussed and compared before, likely in this very thread.

#6

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@arnljot

You keep running back to AmiBay. It is difficult to keep up with you. heh.

I'll comment on 2 things you brought up, if it's of any use to you.

IP - The trademarks are irrelevant, as the uspto has suspended all activity pending resolution of the lawsuits. In fact, the latest suspension letters (reminders of status) were sent out in February.

Here's a sample, Hyperion Entertainment's application for AmigaOS:

Source
Quote:

An Office action suspending further action on the application has been sent (issued) to the applicant.

If you click the "document" link you'll be seeing "suspension" many times.

re:Jan - Jan tried to register the Amiga trademark.

Source

Added: Links. That's all for now.

#6

Last edited by number6 on 11-Apr-2024 at 04:12 AM.
Last edited by number6 on 11-Apr-2024 at 03:48 AM.

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@number6

Re IP: Ok, so it's source code and copyrights that remain mostly then. Trademarks being in limbo.

Re Jan: Ah, didn't know that. Funny, that must surely have been a long shot.

Re Amibay: Yes, it's modern so it's easy just to screenshot the service I was using and just Ctrl-v the data straight into Amibay... Sorry about that.

Btw, are you "AmigaDocuments" on Twitter? Just asking because you also have all of these url's and documents at the tips of your fingers :) All I know about ppl here that anyone can be RJ Michal

So just a small recap (I have not been paying attention)
- Cloanto and Hyperion lawsuit is ended
- Amiga Inc and Hyperion lawsuit is still going strong after all these years

Surely there must be more lawsuits going around than this?

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@arnljot

Quote:

Re IP: Ok, so it's source code and copyrights that remain mostly then. Trademarks being in limbo.

I could tell you about most of them. Filings also exist in the European Union. Including "Amiga Forever" which was obtained as a negotiating tool( (for potential settlement talks) by Hyperion Entertainment and later "surrendered" by the Artes Law founder.

Quote:

Re Jan: Ah, didn't know that. Funny, that must surely have been a long shot.

He wasn't the only one who tried this. heh.

Quote:

Btw, are you "AmigaDocuments" on Twitter? Just asking because you also have all of these url's and documents at the tips of your fingers :) All I know about ppl here that anyone can be RJ Micha

No I am not that individual. There are a number of people here who do research and we all do our own work. We might compare notes to obtain clarity, but that's about it.

this is the individual you're asking about - the correct answer link

Quote:

Cloanto and Hyperion lawsuit is ended

It was appealed to the 9th circuit court. I've mentioned before that it is not yet on the docket.
Once resolved then the C-A Acquisition lawsuit would leave its suspended state and become active again (depending of course on the resolution of the appeal of the other case)

Quote:

Amiga Inc and Hyperion lawsuit is still going strong after all these years

I believe the technical answer here is "the Amiga parties".

Quote:

Surely there must be more lawsuits going around than this?

None I am aware of atm.

Added: link

#6

Last edited by number6 on 11-Apr-2024 at 05:14 AM.

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@arnljot

Found this regarding your question about IP:

Insolvency provisions in Belgium from an IP perspective

Hope that helps.

#6

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Does anyone know in what capacity BH was acting as a lawyer "defending" Hyperion from infringing copyrights?

I always assumed the bulk of the debt that Hyperion has is legal fees to BH BV. In which case he is both a creditor and debtor. In which case he may still end up with control of Hyperion if he accepts micro-cents on the dollar as creditor.

Is it also possible these Hyperion debts are to his old legal firm Monard Law? That would be the best case for Amiga Inc as I presume they would want to force their best interests, especially since BH is no longer with Monard.

I presume BH BV bankruptcy is also a result of the court ruling against Hyperion's desperate grab for attorney fees in the most recently dismissed case link

Ahh - semi answering my own question there are multiple law firms involved as well. They may have been engaged by BH BV?

"The law firm of Lee & Hayes, P.C., which continued to represent Hyperion until March
2020," line 9 link

And more recently, Bamert Regan PLLC

Last edited by dalek on 12-Apr-2024 at 01:23 AM.
Last edited by dalek on 12-Apr-2024 at 01:19 AM.
Last edited by dalek on 12-Apr-2024 at 01:13 AM.

@dalek

Quote:

Is it also possible these Hyperion debts are to his old legal firm Monard Law? That would be the best case for Amiga Inc

First it's "Amiga Corporation" now, not "Amiga Inc.".

Monard Law, formerly Monard D'Hulst is still involved as the representative of Hyperion Entertainment's "AmigaOS" registered trademark in the European Union. There is likely unfinished business there as well.

Yes. Multiple law firms. See my prior post concerning the surrender of the "Amiga Forever" trademark by the founder of Artes Law. There has also been other involvement regarding Artes.

Any remaining business with these firms would fall under the purview of the curator.

I see you are trying to list lawyers working on Ben's behalf? You barely scraped the surface there.

Added:
Monard rep
Artes rep


#6

Last edited by number6 on 12-Apr-2024 at 02:00 AM.
Last edited by number6 on 12-Apr-2024 at 01:36 AM.

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yet another time
don't' treat this "bankruptcy" seriously

@arnljot
Thanks for the Hyperion financial analysis.

dalek Quote:

Does anyone know in what capacity BH was acting as a lawyer "defending" Hyperion from infringing copyrights? I always assumed the bulk of the debt that Hyperion has is legal fees to BH BV. In which case he is both a creditor and debtor. In which case he may still end up with control of Hyperion if he accepts micro-cents on the dollar as creditor. Is it also possible these Hyperion debts are to his old legal firm Monard Law? That would be the best case for Amiga Inc as I presume they would want to force their best interests, especially since BH is no longer with Monard. I presume BH BV bankruptcy is also a result of the court ruling against Hyperion's desperate grab for attorney fees in the most recently dismissed case link Ahh - semi answering my own question there are multiple law firms involved as well. They may have been engaged by BH BV? "The law firm of Lee & Hayes, P.C., which continued to represent Hyperion until March 2020," line 9 link And more recently, Bamert Regan PLLC

Ben Hermans was personally more involved in providing law services early on. I believe he wrote the 2009 settlement agreement between Amiga Inc. and Hyperion and may have coerced Amiga Inc. to sign it under financial duress after Pentti Kouri's death. Ben was less involved later perhaps due to conflict of interest and business scrutiny from Belgium authorities. Paying for legal services to other firms may have drained Hyperion more financially. Hyperion law representation quit on at least one occasion and there has been several law firms involved. I did not know if it was because they were aware of the financial situation of Hyperion, because of suspicious business activities or both. There is new info on the lawsuits and who may have been funding the legal bills on Amiga Documents.

https://sites.google.com/site/amigadocuments/hyperion-entertainment-rtd-gray-eminence

Eliyahu on Amigans.net calls it "a hit piece on Trevor".

https://www.amigans.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=147577#forumpost147577

The author of Amiga Documents claims to have documentation. If Trevor was paying Hyperion legal bills, why did Hyperion fall into bankruptcy? I would have thought non payment of the legal bills were the source of bankruptcy as other business expenses were reduced to a minimum. Google maps doesn't find any Hyperion Entertainment business at the location on their web site. It is common knowledge they aren't paying 68k Amiga developers and AmigaOS 4 development is in hibernation. What else has Hyperion Entertainment done recently besides Heretic II which is likely contracted with payment based on sales? Maybe the failure to file yearly financial statements or the creation of a new Ben Hermans BV raised suspicious instead of debts owed causing the bankruptcy?

@matthey

In 2019, Trevor Dickinson acquired co-ownership of AmigaOS 4 (German)

English

courtesy: Amiganews.de

#6

Last edited by number6 on 12-Apr-2024 at 09:57 PM.
Last edited by number6 on 12-Apr-2024 at 09:46 PM.

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I just have to roll my eyes at this never ending web of intrigue.

It's difficult being Ben because Ben owes Ben a lot of money. And it's all for the love of the Amiga. Ben vs Ben for the betterment of AmigaOS and why not charge for it because Ben owes Ben and that blue butterfly is not authentic enough and updated way too often. Let's let bygons be bygones and pony up some cash for the real OS that's made for free. Does that break it down effectively so it's Cristal Castle clear and legible

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@matthey

Quote:

matthey wrote: Eliyahu on Amigans.net calls it "a hit piece on Trevor".

That was never a convincing defense.

As for him hoping that Trevor takes over AOS(4 or maybe 3 too), with all the competence he has shown in the HW space over the past 15 years that sounds like a fantastic idea.

Last edited by Kronos on 13-Apr-2024 at 11:18 AM.

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@thread

Granted this reddit is dated 5 months old:

Hyperion asleep at the wheel?

(1) Are these issues expressed still going on?

(2) And if so, has anyone bothered to notify these folks that Hyperion is likely in a current state where they can not conduct business?

#6

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It's dead Jim...

matthey Quote:

Eliyahu on Amigans.net calls it "a hit piece on Trevor".

Kronos Quote:

That was never a convincing defense. As for him hoping that Trevor takes over AOS(4 or maybe 3 too), with all the competence he has shown in the HW space over the past 15 years that sounds like a fantastic idea.

Amiga Documents has made claims without evidence before but the 3 new documents back up some of the past claims. The narrative Amiga Documents portrays looks more and more true. The newly released confidential contracts appear to be excessively secretive and refer to likely criminal acts. The 2010-12-17 contract looks like evidence of criminal activity. It substantiates rumors that Ben Hermans and Hyperion were involved in embezzlement and fraud from A-Eon Technology of Belgium. Trevor may have blackmailed or coerced Ben to sign the contract. Coerced contracts are illegal and the contract is criminal evidence so not smart to have written records of an unenforceable contract. Considering a confidentiality clause, how would these documents have been obtained which should have been limited to Hyperion and A-Eon storage? Considering the timing with the bankruptcy news, I suspect Belgium authorities obtained these from Hyperion after they took over management, perhaps for suspicious shell business activity related to the creation of the new Ben Hermans BV. Ben could be in major criminal trouble for multiple serious crimes. Trevor's crimes would be less serious and more difficult to prove but the picture is now clearer that Trevor and Ben worked together and perhaps conspired together considering multiple crimes involved. The contracts raise suspicion of more coercion in the 2009 agreement between Hyperion and Amiga Inc. which is described as granting "HYPERION very extensive rights to AmigaOS which underpins the development by HYPERION of inter alia AmigaOS 4" and possible coercion by Trevor in later contracts with Ben. Trevor is described as a "Business Angel" but appears to be no angel. AmigaOS 4 fans are fine with Trevor and Ben stealing IP instead of buying it as long as it benefits their desires (Robin Hood justification).

https://www.amiga-news.de/files/2010-12-17_hermans-dickinson-moorley_secret-agreement.pdf

#6 Quote:

Granted this reddit is dated 5 months old: Hyperion asleep at the wheel? (1) Are these issues expressed still going on? (2) And if so, has anyone bothered to notify these folks that Hyperion is likely in a current state where they can not conduct business?

Contractually, Trevor may be able to take over AmigaOS 4 distribution.

https://www.amiga-news.de/files/2019-08-19_hyperion-dickinson_secret-agreement-joint-ownership-os4.pdf Quote:

3.03 Limitations of Joint Ownership of the Software Assets. RTD or any of his legal successors (by contract or through operation of law) will not distribute or release in any way or through any medium any of the Software Assets for as long as HYPERION is not subject to any discontinuity of its legal personality and discontinuity of its business activities relating to the development of AmigaOS 4, including, without limitation, liquidation and bankruptcy proceedings ordered by a court of final adjudication or decided upon by HYPERION's shareholders. RTD will contractually procure the adhesion of the aforementioned limitations from any of his legal successors.

I'd have to go back and read if this conflicts with any successor clauses in the 2009 agreement between Hyperion and Amiga Inc. The above clause does not appear to give RTD development rights for AmigaOS 4 but some development is already going on outside of Hyperion like EXEC SG. Maybe there are other contracts though. Worst case is another Amiga related lawsuit between Amiga Corporation and Trevor/A-Eon. Between Michele who legally bought Amiga IP from Amiga Inc. and Trevor who has tried to acquire and secure it by underhanded means.

Last edited by matthey on 13-Apr-2024 at 08:10 PM.
Last edited by matthey on 13-Apr-2024 at 06:57 PM.

@matthey

Given we know more people are prone to read as opposed to posting, it just makes me wonder how many complaints are out there going unattended to.

The only thing I'm sure of re:future is that someone(s) is going to have to perform a wealth of damage control and restoration to the name if they wish to carry on.

#6

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