A maker of Touhou goods reports a criminal shakedown attempt by a company fraudulently claiming to administer the copyright to the Touhou franchise; the company aggressively demanded compensation for violating their supposed “contract”, and threatened legal action if these funds were not forthcoming.
The Touhou goods maker in question, who is understandably keen to remain anonymous for the time being, reports a menacing phone call from someone identifying themselves as the CEO of a company overseeing the licensing of Touhou related goods.
The maker reports the exchange as running along these lines:
“We’re overseeing the rights to all Touhou Project merchandising.”
“Just what do you think you’re doing, making Touhou products without any permission?”
“Come on now, pay up the penalty fee for contract breach!”
“If you think you’ll just ignore us, we’ll be seeing you in court – I’m getting our lawyer in now.”
After this, the maker promptly got in touch with ZUN, and reported the matter. The reply the maker gave to the threatening company did not mince words:
“Just what do you mean, you have the official rights? The man himself doesn’t know what you’re talking about. Why don’t you come out with your proof of exclusive rights management!”
The maker did not receive a reply.
They were also apparently shrewd enough to record the conversation, and are now in consultation with lawyers as to the possibility of pursuing legal action on the grounds of blackmail. They vow to pursue the company if it flees, but are willing to accept compensation and an apology all the same.
Due to the legal and rather shady nature of this incident, the writer is wisely not identifying companies concerned or himself; you can read the Hatena Anonymous Diary entry in question here.
Of course, as it is an anonymous diary, the usual disclaimers apply.
A commenter mentioned that this could well be a yakuza scam (indeed, the company doing the hassling might not even exist), and that if so, poking them with lawyers might not elicit the desired response, but in fact might make the situation much worse.
Certainly, this kind of “licensing fee” style fraud is common criminal fare the world over.
Yakuza or not, it seems the complex situation surrounding Touhou licensing offers great scope for confusion for dealers used ot more common systems; we might wonder if this individual is the first, or if there have in fact been others now the proud dealers of “officially licensed” Touhou products…
Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut “Dragons & Mechs?”
Monster Hunter X Megaman Event Profusely Blue
Love Live! Sunshine!! MV “Will Brighten Up Your Day!”
Top 10 Best Anime Girls of 2015
Hai to Gensou no Grimgar “Has Oppai!”
Picking Up Japan Express Vol. 36 Worth a Pickup
Dimension W Out Of This World
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir PV Certainly Nostalgic
One-Punch Man Soundtrack PV Packs A Wallop
XmasTrickStar “A White Christmas Indeed…”
Wo-Class Carrier Ero-MMD In Dire Straights
Voice Translation Tool Promotional Video “Inexcusable!”
Luck & Logic Far From Lucky
Yandere Simulator Possibly Headed to Kickstarter
Top 20 Recent Anime Most In Need Of A Sequel
Hyrule Warriors Legends PV Clashes Interminably
Akagami no Shirayukihime English Dub Surfaces
Koukaku no Pandora Really Opens That Box
Gate Season 2 Darker Than Ever
Super Sweet Sonico Bikini Figure
Delectable Dizzy Cosplay by Lechat
Dark Elf Cosplay by Non Very Dark Indeed
Titillating Tamako Cosplay Perfectly Pink
Goddess of 2ch: “Full of Lust & Urges (& Also Videos)!”
Raunchy Reisen Inaba Cosplay by Tsuyato
Haruhi Bunny Girl Cosplay Rocks Out
Youmu Ero-Cosplay by Madoka Adachi Deadly Sexy
Comiket 89 Cosplay Sickeningly Sweet
Comiket 89 Cosplay A Guilty Pleasure
Comiket 89 Cosplay Ceaselessly Sexy
Clearly this is a scam. Get the lawyer, sue them, and get their money.
In b4 ZUN says no more doujin products.
I think the statement made by ZUN is partially to retain some profit from and to introduce new fans of the games he makes. He also wants to make clear that people who are pulled into Touhou actually KNOW what it is about rather than be mindless fanboys/girls/devopers/mongers who don't know the origins.
Over commercialization of Touhou would lead to the loss of the strong community that the franchise has created.
ummmmm, how is that comment related to this article?
...unless you were reading the linked article and commented on this one by accident.
Hatena Anonymous Diary is not really the most reliable information source. But let's suppose this incident really happened. It would not be strange if this kind of stuff also happened in the past, since Touhou is popular since long ago it wouldn't be weird if some people tried to take advantage of the weird license situation of the franchise.
Touhou IS serious business, literally.
Agreed
indeed
No doubt about that
and again, more headache for ZUN...
The licensing situation seems fairly clear: Zun retains all rights, but allows the use of names and characters for a surprisingly broad range of products, even for profit, with no licensing fees as of yet.