"We ourselves too
Lovers of the Kamen Rider series
Because I feel that the size of the official product is too small
Simply 'develop' it yourself"
After arriving at the case, Xuan and others
He confessed to the crime of copyright infringement
……
The handsome transformation, the signature knight kick, countless teenagers have their figure in their dreams...... "Kamen Rider" series is the original work of Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishimori, Toei Co., Ltd. produced a series of hero stories, once it was broadcast, it was deeply loved by the public, and the protagonist "Kamen Rider" also became a Japanese evergreen IP together with "Super Sentai" and "Ultraman", and then derived various forms of art works and peripheral products. However, some enthusiasts have taken the road of breaking the law and committing crimes by opening molds, producing and selling "Kamen Rider" character merchandise without authorization.
A few days ago, after the Shanghai Fengxian District Procuratorate initiated a public prosecution, the court sentenced three defendants, including Xuan, Si, and Liu, to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from three years to one year and six months for copyright infringement, and all announced that they would be given suspended sentences and fined.
I thought it was second-hand resale, but who knew that it was a fake
Mr. Wang, who lives in Fengxian, is a "knight fan". In August 2021, when he was browsing a second-hand trading website, he took a fancy to a knight weapon from the Kamen Rider Holy Blade drama - "Dark Sword Moon Dark", which is often called "King Sword" by "Knight fans" and is expensive. Mr. Wang thought it was a second-hand transfer, so he contacted the seller to place an order. After receiving the courier, he found that the toy was unbranded, different in size from the original, and of poor quality. Mr. Wang felt that he had bought a fake, so he complained about the clue to Toei Corporation.
The counterfeit products involved in the case were seized and seized by the public security organs
It is understood that the prototype of the toy sword product bought by Mr. Wang is the weapon used by the characters in the "Kamen Rider Holy Blade" and "Kamen Rider Build" plays, and the Chinese translation names are "Dark Sword Moon Dark" and "No Ming Sword Nothing", the two works have been voluntarily registered by Toei Co., Ltd. to the National Copyright Administration of China, and the officially authorized toy products were sold in Japan on October 17 and December 18, 2020 respectively. After receiving consumer complaints, Toei Co., Ltd., the rights holder, investigated and found that a gang in Zhejiang sold counterfeit products through the Internet, and reported the case to the public security organ on January 9, 2023.
After investigation, the police found that Xuan and others were suspected of committing major crimes. On March 30, 2023, the public security organs seized and seized 368 pieces of finished "Wang Jian", 45 pieces of semi-finished "Wang Jian", 80 pieces of "Wu Ming Sword Nothingness" and 2 computer main chassis at the gang's business premises in Zhejiang. The next day, the public security organs arrested Xuan, Si and others.
Aiming at market demand and starting a "business"
"We are also fans of the Kamen Rider series, but we felt that the size of the official original was too small, so we simply 'developed' it ourselves. After arriving at the case, Xuan and others confessed to their criminal acts of copyright infringement.
Xuan and others are not very old, although they are just in their early 20s, they are old "two-dimensional" users. In June 2021, Xuan chatted with friends about anime tomatsu peripherals, and they all felt that the size of the "Wang Jian" toy of "Kamen Rider" was too small, and everyone hoped to make a "Wang Jian" restored in a 1:1 ratio, and the call for this in the circle was getting higher and higher. Since the official can't meet everyone's needs, they want to try it themselves. There is a senior animation fan in the circle, who is good at designing various modeling drawings, Xuan saw that he used 3D printing technology to print a model of "Wang Jian", and bought the drawings at a price of 6,000 yuan after negotiation.
"We did a market research, and the consumer group is generally middle school students, and according to the height ratio, it is more appropriate to achieve a sword length of about 90 centimeters. Xuan originally planned to rely on the modeling drawings to directly enlarge the scale, but after his research, he found that it was not so simple, only drawings, and could not be directly put into production. Xuan took the modeling drawings of "Wang Jian" to the local studio for modification, and after repeated debugging, the mold was finally successfully opened and put into production. The work was more complex than he expected, and every step of the way needed financial support. During this period, Xuan pulled 300,000 yuan from a friend for "investment", and invested about 100,000 yuan himself. A year later, his friend Si felt that this "business" could continue, so he converted the original investment into equity investment, partnered with Xuan, and agreed to share the profits. The two rented a space in Zhejiang Province as a studio, Xuan was responsible for product research and development, negotiation of processing plants, formulation of sales plans, etc., Si was responsible for financial and other affairs management, and recruited Liu and others to be responsible for sales, delivery and after-sales customer service.
"In 2021, I made the first version of 'Wang Jian', the quality was not good, and more than a dozen of them were returned. According to Xuan's confession, he also tried to consult and negotiate the authorization of the product, but never received a reply, so he never obtained the authorization of the right holder.
According to the prosecutor handling the case, compared with the genuine product, the product produced by Xuan and others has added a voice function, which is made into a circuit by intercepting the voice fragment of "Kamen Rider" in the episode to achieve sound effects and luminous effects, in addition to fine-tuning details such as colors and decals. However, these "creative innovations" that Xuan thought were based on the basic settings and key elements of the original work, and did not have originality, and the "Wang Jian" and "Wuming Sword Nothingness" produced by Xuan Mou were substantially similar to the genuine products, which were copyright infringements.
Online sales, the amount of more than 30 yuan
After investigation, from June 2021 to March 2023, the criminal suspect Xuan, together with Si, Liu and others, for the purpose of profit, without the permission of the right holder Toei Co., Ltd., imitated and produced toys "Wang Jian" and "Wuming Sword Nothingness" in a place in Zhejiang based on the weapons, props and other art works used by the characters in the dramas "Kamen Rider Holy Blade" and "Kamen Rider Build", and sold them through online stores, with a total sales amount of more than 30 yuan.
In October 2023, the case was transferred to the Fengxian District Procuratorate for review and prosecution. The court found that the criminal suspects Xuan, Si, and Liu ganged up to copy and distribute other people's art works for the purpose of profit, without the permission of the copyright owner, and should be investigated for criminal responsibility for the crime of copyright infringement, so on December 29, 2023, the three people were prosecuted in accordance with the law. There are other Yu and Gu in the gang who serve as salesmen, and because the circumstances are relatively minor, the court will not prosecute them in accordance with the law, and transfer the relevant clues to the administrative organs, and the illegal acts of the two are being investigated and verified.
On February 22 this year, the court held a trial of the copyright infringement case of Xuan and others, and the prosecutor of the Fengxian District Procuratorate of Shanghai appeared in court to support the prosecution.
A few days ago, after trial, the court sentenced Xuan, Si, and Liu to three years, two years and six months, and one year and six months in prison respectively for the crime of copyright infringement.
Source: Procuratorate Daily, Rule of Law News Edition
Editor: Sharon