It sounds like we need some sort of standard in terms of what counts as an "abandoned license". I raised this topic once not too long ago with some of the staff when the Higurashi/ZnT situation came up.
In the case of these Geneon licenses, what seems to be the case is that Funimation was simply acting as the distributor for Geneon for a certain time period, and then once that period elapsed they would have the option (as would any licensor, I suppose) of renewing the licenses for those shows they figure are worthy of a reprint. A clear statement was made that Funimation would not be relicensing those two series in particular, hence the decision to re-list the fansubs. But as was pointed out, it's not necessarily the case that they will always announce this "discontinuation"; the reason for the statement in these cases is probably more that there were unlicensed sequel series and a small but vocal fanbase that kept asking. Other shows may just slip away quietly never to be mentioned again.
The distribution deal with Geneon is now up, so I think a good argument can be made that if the show is out of print now with no streaming opportunities or any signs/mention of any possible reprintings, the license should be considered "abandoned" or "dead". I do think we need some sort of standard way of classifying these that should include things like a definition of "unavailable" (can't be purchased new at major online retailers and difficult to acquire used?) and some sort of minimum time frame since the last release (2 years? 3 years?).
All that the current
Listing Policy says about this case is as follows:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Listing Policy
If a license has expired and a title is not available for legal viewing or purchase anymore, AnimeSuki may re-list such titles as long as the fansubs are not based in any way on the legal version.
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So basically we just need to define what counts as "expired" and "not available" short of official statements.