She reportedly didn't like the way her favorite character was treated
With games like The IDOLM@STER and Ensemble Stars! allowing people to manage Japanese idols, they're sure to create a divide among fans—not about which game is better, but which character is best. This may cause developers to omit some characters in favor of promoting more popular ones. But what would fans do if this happened to their favorite character? One such fan is now facing accusations of taking copyrighted images from Ensemble Stars! and Photoshopping™ insect images onto them.
Image via x.com
© 2014-2019 Happy Elements KK
NHK and Kyoto Shinbun reported that Kyoto Prefectural Police filed charges on Monday against a 25-year-old woman living in Tokyo for allegedly stealing six copyrighted images of Ensemble Stars! character Kohaku Oukawa inserts images of cockroaches and other insects and posts them to her social media account.
According to the police, the female office worker admitted to the crime and said she committed these acts because she”did not like the way the character was treated.”The publisher of Ensemble Stars! “We filed the complaint because we believe this is a serious case that will tarnish the image of our intellectual property,” said in a statement to prosecutors.
While it's unclear what will happen to this woman, it's absurd that a company is taking legal action against someone who modified a copyrighted image. Admittedly, the woman's actions violated the copyright of Happy Elements, the publisher of Ensemble Stars. However, the action taken seems a bit trivial
The fate of the 25-year-old woman remains undecided as of this writing. Hopefully not much will happen. know about these cases.
Source: Ensemble Stars! X/Twitter account, NHK, Kyoto Shinbun (Yahoo Japan News)
