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Nov 18, 2011
The heart-wrenching tale of four young people in Tokyo that melted the hearts of millions of TV viewers two decades ago is at the centre of a copyright storm this week.
The creators of the Japanese drama Tokyo Love Story are accusing the producers of a stage version of false claims and copyright infringement.
The stage adaptation running at Shanghai's Lyceum Theatre until Saturday is being billed as a celebration of the show's 20th anniversary. Fuji TV's 12-episode mini-series was based on Fumi Saimon's graphic novel of the same name.
But Fuji TV says the producers of the stage version - Shanghai Jinhui Art Communication Co - have falsely claimed that it received support from Fuji TV as well as sponsorship from the Japanese consulate in Shanghai.
"We were told by a business contact that the promotional posters for the stage play say the show was sponsored by the Japanese consulate in Shanghai, and Fuji TV was involved in the production," said a source from Fuji TV. "But of course we were never involved in the development. We never approved any licensing and we didn't know about this until November 8. This is very blatant."
Both the Japanese consulate in Shanghai and Fuji TV complained to Jinhui. The Japanese consulate issued a statement on November 11 saying it did not authorise the stage version of Tokyo Love Story produced by Jinhui to use its name.
The source said all mentions of the Japanese consulate and Fuji TV were removed two days after the complaint. Fuji TV then instructed a law firm in Shanghai to issue a cease and desist letter to Jinhui on Monday, demanding an official explanation for the firm's action. "We find the matter of utmost concern, and we confirm that we have sent a cease and desist letter to the infringing party," said a Fuji TV spokesman.
The source said Fuji TV might take further legal action. "It will depend on what kind of response we get from the company," the source added.
The publisher of Saimon's graphic novel also stressed that the author had not granted rights for the production. "We are aware of the production in Shanghai. Ms Saimon did not grant any copyright licence to the Shanghai production, neither did we. The possibility of legal action is still being considered," said Masaki Tajika, chief manager of the legal department at Shogakukan, which published Saimon's works.
Jinhui responded with a statement on its website yesterday saying that because of miscommunication with Fuji TV during pre-production of its version of Tokyo Love Story it "has mistaken Fuji TV as the presenter [of the play]" and it "apologises for the trouble caused to Fuji TV."
A spokeswoman for Jinhui confirmed it had received the complaint from Fuji TV, and its representative visited the broadcaster's headquarters in Japan on Wednesday.
She said the row was caused by a "misunderstanding" between the two companies. In June, Jinhui sent representatives to Fuji TV's headquarters in Japan to give it an "official document" asking whether the station felt comfortable with Jinhui listing it in marketing material for its stage version of Tokyo Love Story as the producer. The spokeswoman said Jinhui did not receive a response from Fuji TV within a time frame set out in the document and simply assumed the TV station had agreed.
She said the copyright infringement allegation was not appropriate as Fuji TV only held the copyright to the TV version. She did not comment on the copyright on Saimon's original work. Tokyo Love Story was an instant hit when it first aired in Japan in 1991. It was shown in Hong Kong in 1993 and on the mainland in 1995.
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