Based on Koei Tecmo Managing Government Officer Tomotoshi Nishimura, the developer’s ongoing work in the direction of shield the public-facing identification of their massively fashionable Useless or Alive franchise has resulted of their issuing hundreds of take down requests towards what they deem as ‘inappropriate fan artwork’.
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Nishimura revealed this perception into Koei Tecmo’s company operations whereas talking alongside representatives from quite a lot of his fellow Japanese online game studios, comparable to Capcom and Nintendo, on the subject of “The Significance of Mental Property Rights within the Recreation Trade”, as held through the latest Tokyo eSports Festa 2025.
Per a recap of the panel supplied by Japanese online game information outlet Recreation Watch, Nishimura opened the dialogue by noting that when it comes to his employer’s copyright protection-related efforts, one such space the place they tried to afford explicit leniency was that of “secondary works comparable to doujinshi [self-published print media]”.
Additional, he famous that the corporate was not solely tolerant of ‘otaku tradition’, however even supported one in all its greatest gatherings within the type of the annual Comedian Market (Comicket) market occasion.
Nevertheless, regardless of this espoused assist, Nishimura clarified that there have been two notable exceptions to their doujinshi-related good will: Publications that printed leaked photographs regarding unreleased video games and people who portrayed the franchise’s solid of fighters in a manner that Koei Tecmo themselves believed to be “inappropriate”, with their efforts towards the latter amounting to roughly 2,000 to three,000 takedown requests being issued yearly to infringing customers throughout numerous social media platforms.
From there, Nishimura closed out this part of the presentation by explaining that to attendees that fairly than an inherent objection to sexual content material or fan expression, these takedowns have been issued in an effort to guard their IP’s ‘official picture’, significantly as the feminine Useless or Alive solid have been thought of to be “like daughters” to each their respective designers and the general firm.
Lastly, because the panel drew to an in depth, the Koei Tecmo exec finally concluded that whereas the legal guidelines surrounding IP rights usually are not excellent and plenty of may have their points with them, they’re nonetheless essentially the most helpful device within the business’s battle towards copyright infringement, and thus it’s crucial that these concerned work to search out workable, authorized options.
Curiously, this isn’t the primary time the Dynasty Warriors franchise stewards and their copyright safety practices have made the information.
In 2021, Koei Tecmo filed fees towards a Japanese particular person who was promoting a bootleg DVD compilation of Useless or Alive modded cutscenes which changed the women’ authentic character fashions with ones depicting them as absolutely nude, which the developer accused of being “an infringement of our copyright”.
Sadly, given the latest historical past of not simply the franchise, however the general online game business, it’s doubtless Nishimura’s point out of Useless or Alive will likely be one of many final occasions it receives any official point out for the foreseeable future.
To this finish, the franchise may even see one final burst of consideration later this yr when Useless or Alive Xtreme: Venus Trip Prism releases for the PC platform.
NEXT: Capcom Takes Purpose At PC Recreation Modding, Says Builders Ought to Be Involved Over “Mods That Are Offensive To Public Order and Morals”
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