Kodansha Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to Software Creator

"I received a formal warning from Kodansha. As a result I have stopped the distribution of the Moyashimon tool. There is plan to distribute the tool again in the future."

What is the Moyashimon tool? Moyashimon tool is a desktop tool based on Masayuki Ikagawa's seinen manga Moyashimon. The tool's only function was to animate the fungus and viruses found in Moyashimon on your desktop. The tool was pretty yet functionally meaningless; nonetheless, it was well received by others for its cuteness.

In March, Kodansha, the copyright holder of Moyashimon, sent the creator of Moyashimon tool a warning letter requesting that the tool be taken down, or else it will be regarded as infringing Kodansha's copyright.

The creator of Moyashimon tool has since taken down the desktop accessory. The is the second time this month a major publisher has sent a cease-and-desist letters to a fan-made works, the first being Shogakukan accusing doujinshi Doraemon - Final Episode of copyright infringement.

From the author who reported the news regarding Kodansha and Moyashimon tool:

I loved the Moyashimon tool because of its cuteness and uselessness. I mentioned about it on my Mixi (a JP social network site), and as a result some people who have never heard of Moyashimon before decided to buy the manga from Amazon.com. With the Moyashimon tool, more people are getting to know the manga; on the other hand, what are the losses suffered by Kodansha or the mangaka of Moyashimon? Are they going to make some similar tool and sell it? Not likely.

The mangaka of Moyashimon did not gain anything by Kodansha's sending a warning to Moyashimon tool's creator, and at the same time he lost the opportunity for a small "advertisement" opportunity. No one profits from this warning except for the satisfaction felt by the Kodansha staff who found the Moyashimon tool.

Someone would say, "Rules should be respected," but copyright exists for the profit of the creators and for the development of culture and innovation. Using copyright to protect copyright itself is absurd.

In early March Kodansha stated on its Kodansha Book Club website that it forbids any secondary creations and distribution of its works, and that any such work will be considered infringing their copyrights.

Source: Tail's Blog