

Chinese children look to have been getting an early education in their nation’s uniquely advanced understanding of copyright – media have been feting a schoolboy novelist, but it did not take long before someone noticed where he had filched his cover art from…
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- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: Jun 24, 2012 20:14 JST
- Tags: AKB48, Comparison, Copyright, Idol, K-ON!, Music, Osaka, Otaku, Parody, Plagiarism


K-ON! fans are fuming at AKB48 sister group NMB48′s apparent cribbing of their beloved anime’s very logo, alleging plagiarism of the most egregious sort.
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- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Games, News
- Date: Jun 15, 2012 16:16 JST
- Tags: Comparison, Controllers, Interviews, Nintendo, Plagiarism, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360

Nintendo’s CEO has been saying the PS4 and Xbox 720 are no competition for the Wii U – because consumers won’t be able to tell the difference anyway.
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Sou Miyata, the artist recently busted for tracing no less than three pictures in his official Total Eclipse pin-up, has been sacked – and delving into his past works reveals this was far from his first brush with plagiarism, and not the first time he was caught at it either.
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- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Games, News
- Date: Jun 13, 2012 19:49 JST
- Tags: Comparison, Copyright, Made in China, Plagiarism, PSP, Retro, Sony, Technology, Thailand


The release of the PS Vista, incorporating the latest in made in China technology and China’s unique approach to honouring intellectual property, has actually been greeted with a surprising amount of enthusiasm.
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The summer 2012 anime season is off to a less promising start than might be hoped – one of the most anticipated upcoming series, “Muv-Luv Total Eclipse,” is already facing tracing accusations after it emerged some of its sexy pinup art looks to have been blatantly plagiarised from not one but two different sources in the same picture…
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China’s billion dollar “pirated” copy of the Austrian village of Hallstatt has finally opened, much to the annoyance of the inhabitants of the original, who still complain the Chinese copied their village in secret and never bothered to ask for permission.
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- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: May 4, 2012 09:30 JST
- Tags: 3D CG, China, Copyright, Made in China, Music, Otaku, Plagiarism, Video Gallery, Vocaloid

Hatsune Miku fans are outraged at China’s latest “original” creation, a Chinese virtual idol whose looks and live performance bear an excruciating similarity to those of Miku herself.
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- Author: Artefact
- Categories: International, News
- Date: Apr 23, 2012 14:01 JST
- Tags: Bizarre, China, Copyright, Crime, Fraud, Made in China, Marketing, Parody, Plagiarism

Far from being cracked down on, China’s fake brands actually seem to be getting more numerous – much to the despair of international brands and the general amusement of the Internet.
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Even the Chinese are perturbed by how blatantly their fashion designers have been copying sexy lingerie designs from the likes of Victoria’s Secret, and then proudly having their knock-offs strut down the catwalk – although sadly nobody is particularly surprised by the development.
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The appearance of Saber in a French Japanese conversation phrase book and Haruhi and her minions in a Japanese social education tome have been causing some astonishment online.
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- Author: Artefact
- Categories: Manga, News
- Date: Dec 10, 2011 11:22 JST
- Tags: 2ch, Comparison, Copyright, Crime, Food, Internet, Law, Mangaka, Plagiarism, Shueisha

Grand Jump serialised gourmet manga “Dashi Master” is the latest manga to fall victim to the temptations of Google Images, with the publishers suspending its publication after its author was accused of tracing a significant number of images.
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