Doraemon Doujinshi Accused of Infringing Copyright

A doujinshi titled Doraemon - Final Episode was released at the end of 2005. Since then the work has sold over 15,500 copies and received many praises. However, recently Shogakukan, the copyrights holder of Doraemon, has announced that this doujinshi work is infringing their copyrights, and requested the doujin group to cease publication of their work. Moreover, Shogakukan is also claiming compensation, and even considering prosecution.

Twice a year, over 400,000 artists attend Comiket to sell their doujinshi. While the act of "re-creation" is an illegal activity in itself, many have tolerated it to promote the growth of new talents, as many of today's professional mangaka started out as doujinshi artists.

As legal consciousness in Japan is increases, more doujinshi are more likely to be involved with copyright issues.

The Doraemon doujinshi in question can be found here.

Translated by T. Ohara