Yikes- Games Workshop isn’t the only company going after its IP, as a woman in Japan got charged $60,000 for selling Demon Slayer cakes.
If you were planning on decorating cakes with the IP of the biggest selling movie (and one of the biggest anime in general) in Japan’s history, you might want to be a little more discreet!
So for people really upset about Games Workshop protecting their IP, they are not the only company out there doing it. We’ve covered pretty in-depth what has been happening with Games Workshop and their IP here in case you missed it.
For now, let’s focus on the Demon Slayer cake debacle!
GW Isn’t the Only Company Going After its IP
According to the Anime News Network, A woman in Japan was advertising her cakes on Instagram and obviously, someone noticed. This led to her being charged for every cent she made off the cakes, totaling around $60,000.
The Mukaishima Metropolitan Police Department charged a woman on Tuesday for breaking copyright law by selling unauthorized cakes based on the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba franchise. The woman had sold cakes for 13,000 to 15,000 yen (about US$113.97 to US$131.50) each on Instagram. She had made about 6.5 million yen (about US$56,982) since July 2019.
Well first, her cakes were actually really cool! But instead of coming up with anything original, she stole completely from the IP of Demon Slayer, and well, the story is strangely straightforward.
The police charged the woman and she said right away she knew what she was doing was illegal. Further saying she knew the cakes would sell as long as they had popular anime characters on them. But obviously, she didn’t get anything licensed.
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So now, she has to pay back $60,000 after only making in total $57,000. So she’ll actually end up way in the hole when you consider ingredients, marketing, etc… While this isn’t the craziest thing in the world it is a good lesson.
As we have pointed out before you make one-to-one copies, you basically have no defense whatsoever.
Especially when you consider the popularity of Demon Slayer. It was the first movie, in the history of cinema, to be the first non-Hollywood or non-USA movie ever made to gross the most money worldwide in a year.
This is quite the accomplishment, but obviously, that means they have lawyers on the prowl. So just remember- the bigger something is, the harder it is going to be to rip off.
Where GW Fan Creativity Ends & IP Infringement Starts
Do you think Games Workshop would ever come down this hard on someone for their IP?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
