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Studio Ghibli releases trilingual warning criticizing sales of illegally copied artwork

Casey Baseel Dec 10, 2024
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Notice posted in Japanese, English, and Chinese says “Ghibli has not authorized these activities and intends to take strict action, both civil and criminal.”

Studio Ghibli’s anime films are loved around the world, not only by the international anime fan community but by the wider community of general animation and cinema enthusiasts as well. But with global appreciation for the studio’s works comes worldwide demand for merchandise, and with that similarly scaled threats of Ghibli’s intellectual property rights being violated in the name of making some cash.

While you won’t see much unlicensed Ghibli merch for sale at retail shops in Japan, it’s not hard to find at anime and pop culture shops overseas, or online for that matter. The studio is saying that enough is enough, though, in a trilingual statement posted to the Studio Ghibli official website on Monday in Japanese, English, and Chinese. The notice’s English version opens with:

We have confirmed that there are several stores and online shops that sell framed images and paintings taken from our films, books and other publications at extremely high prices. These products are unauthorized reproductions that infringe on Studio Ghibli’s copyrights and other intellectual property rights. Please be advised that Studio Ghibli has not authorized these activities and intends to take strict action, both civil and criminal, as applicable.

All of Studio Ghibli’s works were created and produced by many people involving years of hard work. We release our films globally and the films and their characters are beloved by people around the world. We strive to continue to make our films, both past and future, and officially licensed products to our fans around the world for many more years. However, the sales of unauthorized copyright infringement products devalue our global image and are nothing more than unlawful sales that cannot be overlooked.

The statement highlights an important dichotomy within Ghibli. On the one hand, there’s arguably no major animation studio, or film-making enterprise of any type, more genuinely committed to the concept that its art comes first. Co-founder and legendary director Hayao Miyazaki is well known for his outspoken indifference to, or even distaste for, the financially motivated aspects of movie making. On the other hand, Studio Ghibli isn’t a volunteer artist colony. It’s a business, one that needs to secure financial resources in order to continue its creative endeavors, and given its lengthy production schedules, often needs to secure a lot of financial resources. Official merchandise sales are a key part of that equation, and even if Miyazaki isn’t doing it himself, others, such as veteran producer Toshio Suzuki, are crunching the numbers, and by extension keeping an eye out for counterfeit and pirated merchandise. And despite the actual studio being a quaint building in a quiet suburb, Studio Ghibli’s parent company, Nippon Television Network Corporation, is a large media company with a commensurately robust legal team.

All of that is to say that any perception that Studio Ghibli cares about art only, and that the company and its members wouldn’t be bothered by unauthorized merchandise because they’re above such vulgar concerns as money, would be a mistake. Selling copied Ghibli artwork is an especially disrespectful move considering that the studio has been rather generous in releasing free-to-use images and video conference wallpapers through its official website, something not many Japanese anime studios officially do.

▼ Studio Ghibli made its stance on bald-faced greed pretty clear in Spirited Away.

“As we continue to strengthen protections of our intellectual property rights from our films and strive to ensure that our fans can enjoy them, we would like to thank you for your continued patronage of officially licensed and authorized businesses,” the notice concludes.

Source: Studio Ghibli via Jin
Top image: Studio Ghibli
Insert images: Studio Ghibli
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