Demon Slayer Runs Into Copyright Snafu Following Trademark Ruling

Demon Slayer is one of the biggest franchises in the world right now, and it shows in its bank account. The series is making money hand over fist as its movie is still raking in cash. Of course, plenty of that money is coming from merchandise, and it seems like Shueisha just hit a snag with its latest round of trademarks.

The news was shared this morning when Huffington Post Japan commented on a trademark snafu filed by Shueisha. As it turns out, the manga publisher did file for a few trademarks regarding clothing patterns found in Demon Slayer. The company wanted to copyright the clothing patterns of Giyū Tomioka, Shinobu Kocho, and Kyōjurō Rengoku to start before adding three others. But unfortunately, the latter three were denied.

The trademarks for Tanjirō Kamado, Nezuko Kamado, and Zenitsu Agatsuma were denied while the others were approved for Shueisha. The patent office did not cite any reason for the detail, but Huffington Post Japan did speak with an expert on the topic. It was there the law expert suggested the reasoning likely had to do with the patterns’ simplicity. Shueisha should be given a chance to appeal the decision, but for now, it has three copyrights under its belt.

This copyright upset comes not long after Shueisha applied for the Demon Slayer trademarks. The company filed the six patents last year, and Shueisha has stressed its desire to knock out counterfeit goods. These knock-offs do take a good chunk of money from official licensers, and shoddy copies can reflect poorly on Demon Slayer. Given how popular the anime is, Shueisha wants to protect the IP’s reputation from fakes. And if there is money to be made, there is no time to waste.

What do you think of Demon Slayer‘s copyright debacle? Are you surprised by this ruling or…? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

HT – ANN