If you're a fan, don't buy it. How do you prevent "Kimetsu no Yaiba" fake damage?
October 28, 21:17
"Kimetsu no Yaiba" continues to be a record hit.
Fake goods and pirated copies are rampant behind the boom.
"If you're a fan, don't buy it." While
hearing the sad voices from the people concerned and fans, we interviewed what is happening at the scene.
(Reporter, Network News Department, Yuki Taguma)
The fake of Sumijiro ...
"Piracy of Kimetsu no Yaiba and fake goods are rampant." In
late September, I heard this information from the people concerned.
As soon as I checked the websites such as online shopping, I found that there were a lot of goods that were designed by the characters such as Kanjiro, and it was unclear whether they had proper permission.
At that time, it was announced that the cumulative circulation of comics would exceed 100 million, and the industry was booming.
I was worried about the movement of pouring water on the boom after a long absence, and as I was proceeding with the interview, police were soon caught one after another all over the country.
A fake figure of "Kimetsu no Yaiba", a key chain, and a pirated DVD ...
From September to October, there were seven cases nationwide that were caught by the police on suspicion of violating copyright law for selling without permission.
As I proceeded with the interview to find out why fake and pirated copies were rampant, I arrived at a certain online shopping site.
“Recommended” tag for pirated editions
The pirated DVD of the anime "Kimetsu no Yaiba" was exhibited on Amazon.
The regular version in Japan costs about 70,000 yen for all 26 episodes, but this pirated version is "new" and costs about 10,000 yen, which is unnaturally cheap.
On the other hand, the number of reviews written by people who purchased the product exceeded 200, leaving many impressions.
In addition to the impressions such as "I bought it cheaply" and "I had a good deal", there were several comments that seemed to be purchased while recognizing that it was a pirated version.
Furthermore, according to the people concerned, this pirated DVD had such a display for a while.
"Amazon's Choice"
This tag is recommended by the Amazon side as "a product with a high evaluation and an affordable price".
As a result, the situation, albeit temporarily, gave consumers a false impression.
Mail-order sites and flea market apps are taking measures such as deleting fake products and closing fraudulent accounts, but the current situation is that they are still not catching up with the flea markets that are being put up one after another. ..
Deletion request ... Companies that are busy responding
I visited Shueisha, which publishes a cartoon of Kimetsu no Yaiba, to find out how companies are responding to the rampant fake.
"These are all products sold without permission." On the mail-order site and flea market apps that the person in charge showed me, there are many goods such as bags, wallets, stickers, etc. designed with the character of Kimetsu no Yaiba. It was exhibited.
All of them are sold without permission.
Recently, it is said that the number of costumes that imitate characters is increasing before Halloween.
It is said that we mainly receive reports from people who have seen the site, perform confirmation work every day, and request deletion each time, but it means that there is no end to the listing of non-genuine products.
Ms. Miyashige Tomishige, who is in charge of measures against infringement at Shueisha, said as follows.
Mr. Tomishige
"There is no problem with making and using it yourself, but if you sell it using characters or logos without permission, you may be accused of violating copyright law or trademark law."
"Popular works appear There are also malicious vendors who make counterfeit products and make a lot of money, but recently, with the spread of frima apps etc., I feel that the number of people who sell and buy is increasing with a light feeling. "
Furthermore, it is said that what is now feeling a crisis is the rapid increase in imports from overseas that are suspected to be fake.
Mr. Tomishige
"Inquiries from customs, we
assessed
about 20 cases in a year last year, but as of the end of last month, the number of cases of"
Kimetsu no Yaiba
"only exceeded 100. I have a very sense of crisis. "
There is also a movement to detect overseas bases that "cut off from the root"
When I was beginning to wonder if it would be difficult to stop counterfeiting only by distribution and border measures, I realized that new measures are underway.
According to people familiar with the matter, a base for manufacturing fake figures in China was seized by local authorities this summer, and tens of thousands of fake figures, including those related to "Kimetsu no Yaiba," were seized.
Toward this detection, a Japanese company with rights related to "Kimetsu no Yaiba" and a local research company were working together to work with the authorities.
In this, the research company independently collected and provided information on the location of the manufacturing base and evidence of manufacturing counterfeit products.
We are seeing Japanese companies that are forced to take such drastic measures to cooperate with overseas law enforcement agencies in order to eliminate counterfeit products from the roots.
International cooperation to protect Japanese content
“There is a limit to the efforts of individual companies, and international cooperation
across
the country is indispensable,”
says Kenro Goto, the representative director of the “Contents Overseas Distribution Promotion Organization,” which works on anti-piracy measures. ..
Looking at the detections related to "Kimetsu no Yaiba", the importer of pirated DVDs is Malaysia, the manufacturing base of figures is China, and the pirated manga sites that are frequently accessed from Japan mainly use Vietnamese servers. The bases of fraud are spread all over the world.
Goto CEO
"Piracy traders continue to play a cat-and-mouse game in a country with a weak copyright awareness, where they are in a safe place and flee to another country if the crackdown is strengthened. On the other hand, it is necessary to present solid evidence and provide solid evidence that "Who in your country is guilty. Please crack down." The government, the private sector, and the private sector are united. I think we should focus on that measure. "
To produce a hit product following "Kimetsu no Yaiba"
Where does the desire to somehow protect Japanese anime and manga from fake damage come from?
I asked the person in charge of Shueisha again.
Mr. Tomishige
"When a hit work is born, fans want to support it and buy the product of that work, so that we can create newer works and interesting works following"
Kimetsu no Yaiba
"in the world. It will become a source. Furthermore, taking advantage of the business may weaken the content industry. I think that I want to buy the product because it is my favorite work, so money I think that the genuine market is important so that the original authors can support us. "
What we can do
As a
fan of
"I want merchandise of my favorite work"
, it is natural that if it is a fake or pirated version, it may help the act of infringing the rights of the creator.
Recently, there are products that are difficult to distinguish from fraudulent products at a glance, and the situation is difficult, but fraudulent markets are also made up of buyers.
I felt once again that in order to create an environment where you can enjoy works like "Kimetsu no Yaiba" in the future, it is necessary for each of us to keep our hands on fake and pirated copies.