Fakku to Challenge a NSFW Anime Trademark in New Legal Case

It looks like a legal battle is coming from Fakku over a rather delicate subject. New reports confirm the adult manga publisher is preparing to contest a trademark held by Shenzhen Guangcai Trading. The company riled Fakku after it filed a trademark for the term ‘ahegao’ which is prominently used to describe certain scenes in hentai.

Over on Twitter, Fakku founder Jacob Grady posted about the trademark to warn fans about the other company’s ‘aheagao’ merchandise. “A Chinese company named Shenzhen Guangcai Trading has trademarked the word “Ahegao” while using STOLEN ARTWORK and is trying to get FAKKU to stop selling the ONLY 100% official merch,” he wrote.

“We are going to fight it. But please stop buying bootleg items.”

The trademark application filed by Shenzhen Guangcai Trading was turned in to the Patent and Trademark Office back in September 2018. It was then registered in April 2019 and specifically applies to clothes, shoes, and other accessories. Of course, this poses an issue for FAKKU as the publisher is known for selling ‘ahegao’ shirts and merchandise. These NSFW tops can be found at almost any anime convention, but debates have cropped up online about their appropriateness given their NSFW context.

After all, ‘ahegao’ is directly tied to hentai and adult manga. The term is used to describe the expression of arousal in those mediums. Back in June 2018, FAKKU teamed up with artist Asanagi to sell fashion pieces printed with ‘aheagao’ artwork, and the company is looking to use those receipts to contest the trademark filed by the Shenzhen-based company.

What do you make of this… interesting legal battle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

HT – ANN