Japanese go to court with Cheburashka

Tokyo regional court proceeded to listening of “Cheburashka case”.
Russian writer Edward Uspensky, whose interests are represented by Japanese SP International company, tries to prove that 3 Japanese firms breached his copyrights by Cheburashka, a book hero he created, for commercial purposes. Those firms sell toys, t-shirts, signs and other memorabilia with “Cheby” portraits, and also videos and dvds with Cheburashka cartoons.

Officials in SP International explained that so far their client asks not for a material compensation, but only a court-approved fact of copyright breach.

The Japanese companies accused in breach work by licenses acquired from Films Bye Job company, which was created in the USA by Oleg Vidov, a former USSR actor, and his wife Joan. They refer to the 10-years old contract with “Cinema studio “SoyuzMultFilm” Russian company. In 1999, however, a Federal State Unitary Company with the same name was created in Russia, and its rights for all soviet times cartoons was approved recently by Russian government special order.

source: Lenta.Ru