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Is Yuki Suetsugu Guilty Of Copyright Violations? Date: 10/23/2005 |
| While Kodansha has taken in-company actions related to the discovery of artist Yuki Suetsugu's appropriations of material in Takehiko Inoue's Slam Dunk manga, it should be noted that neither her nor her publisher have yet been charged with a crime or law suit related to copyright violation. While the side by side comparsions of some of the pannels of Eden No Hanna VS Slam Dunk are enough evidence to convince some of an ethical crime, it has not been enough to convince all of a crime against existing law. This sentiment has appeared in a number of Japanese blogs following the case, described as "shinkokuzai", a type of crime which requires a formal complaint from the victim in order to prosecute. Kodansha discontinued and is in the process of pulling all of Suetsugu's manga as an independent action and both directed an act of moral responsibility by offering a specific apology to Takehiko Inoue in their recent statements. Some observers believe that while the act of copying artwork was wrong, Kodansha has gone to the lengths of abnormal severity by removing all of her existing titles and not just the ones where copying was found to have taken place. The question is being asked: does another reason hitherto unreported exist for these actions? A comparison case (based on the current facts known) in recent history is that of Ryoichi Ikegami (Mai The Psychic Girl, Sanctuary). He was found to have traced the image of castle found in a photograph for his 'Nobunaga' manga co written by Kazuya Kudo. Mr. Ikegami admitted to this taking place, apologized for the event and the work was taken out of print briefly only to return later when the problem was cleared. However, unlike the Suetsugu situation, Ikegami's other titles were not suspended and he goes on to this day creating new manga. Inoue has yet to make any public comments on Yuki Suetsugu. |
| Source: Anime News Service |
