News
Cease & Desist Letters for Eva: 1.0, Soul Eater Fansubs (Updated)
posted on by Egan Loo
The North American anime distributor FUNimation has confirmed on Monday that it issued cease-and-desist letters on behalf of its Japanese partners to stop the fan-subtitled distribution of the Evangelion: 1.0 You (Are) Not Alone, Soul Eater, Spice + Wolf, Mushi-Uta, and My Bride is a Mermaid projects. According to Funimation, it has "recent authorization agreements with Kadokawa, NTV, Media Factory, and TV Tokyo Medianet" to send these letters. The Nyoron Fansubs group reports that the cease-and-desist letter for the Evangelion: 1.0 You (Are) Not Alone film was sent on behalf of NTV.
Funimation notes, as it has in past cease-and-desist efforts, "We want to stress that though these series are not yet licensed to a distribution company in the U.S., the rights owned by Japanese producers are still applicable, and enforceable, worldwide. "
Funimation also continued to send out cease-and-desist letters for the D.Gray-man and Katekyo Hitman Reborn! anime, as it has been doing since earlier this year. Funimation announced it had acquired D.Gray-man this past May.
Thank you to jel123, Starks, and Deacon Blues for the news tips.
Image © Khara
© Atsushi Ohkubo/Square Enix, TV Tokyo, Media Factory, Bones, Dentsu 2008
Update: Kadokawa Pictures USA sent out separate cease-and-desist notices against links to fan-subtitled videos of Spice + Wolf, but not the videos themselves, in June. Thanks, Panda Man.
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