Studio Ghibli aren’t messing around regarding copyright infringement of their beloved movies. The studio behind Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, and the insanely underrated From Up on Poppy Hill (among many others), are also responsible for some of the most beautiful merch and art prints in the anime world. Such a devout fan following has expectedly brought with it “entrepreneurs” who copy and steal original artwork to reap the profits.
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In a statement released on the official Studio Ghibli website, the company promises to enact civil and criminal charges on anyone selling unofficially licensed Studio Ghibli artwork. “We have confirmed that there are currently some cases in some stores and online shops where images and paintings have been taken without permission from books and other publications published by our company, framed, etc., and are being sold at extremely inflated prices,” the statement began.
Studio Ghibli promises to “take strict measures in both civil and criminal terms.” The statement continued: “Our works and the characters that appear in them were all created and released into the world by many people with a lot of time and effort, and have been loved by many people around the world for many years.” Studio Ghibli described the infringements as “a free ride on our works and characters.”
[RELATED: Studio Ghibli’s Greatest Movie Is Now Streaming on Netflix]
For every piece of officially licensed Studio Ghibli merch, there is well over double the number of knock-off pieces using official artwork from the studio. The notice only concerns those using stolen art from officially licensed books and other print media. The work is being lazily taken and reformatted into various forms of merchandise. Meanwhile, fan art and original fan merch are still acceptable — meaning your cousin’s Etsy store is safe.
What’s Next for Studio Ghibli?
While Studio Ghibli’s legal department is busy taking down illegal merch sites, Hayao Miyazaki is reportedly hard at work on his next movie. Many expected The Boy and the Heron to be Miyazaki’s final film as a director. But the 83-year-old filmmaker shows no signs of slowing down.
Little is known about Hayao Miyazaki’s next movie, or if it even exists at all. Neither Miyazaki nor Ghibli have officially announced the project to be in development. However, Miyazaki’s son, Goro Miyazaki, has revealed some key details about the new film. The director said the film is “looking like an action-adventure-type movie,” which will be “nostalgic and reminiscent of the old days.”
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