Flint
Dec 11 2007, 12:40 PM
Square Enix have won a legal case against a Korean media company who produced a music video for the singer Ivy that they say rips off FFVII Advent Children:
From Eurogamer:
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=89138
Square Enix has won its legal battle with Korean entertainment company Fantom for plagiarising the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children videogame, GamesIndustry.biz reports (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=31416).
According to a judge, Fantom had "illegally used 80 per cent of the storyline, setting, characters and their style of dress" for a music video by singer Ivy.
"Square Enix will continue to take decisive action against any infringements upon the company's intellectual property, recognising that this property is one of our most crucial resources," said Yasuhiko Hasegawa, general counsel of Square Enix, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
"This judgement by the Seoul Central District Court is stringent in comparison to other copyright infringement cases in South Korea, and we appreciate that the maliciousness of this infringement has been recognised in a public forum," he added.
Fantom Entertainment has been fined USD 10,900, with additional fines each of USD 6500 for Lee Han-woo, director of the company, and Hong Jeong-ho, director of the music video.
Square Enix says its Final Fantasy franchise has sold more than 75 million copies over its ten year history.
*Ignore the fact that the article claims that Advent Children is a videogame*
The video for the song is actually a pretty spot-on recreation of the scene in the church where Tifa fights Loz, including all the over-the-top fighting moves and almost identical camera angles. It was also meant as a kind of homage to the film and I don't think any kind of copyright infringement was intended at all - it's really like a fan creation that just happens to have been released by a professional singer.
From youtube, here's the video that's causing all the fuss:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6m01X8Qzkw
From Eurogamer:
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=89138
Square Enix has won its legal battle with Korean entertainment company Fantom for plagiarising the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children videogame, GamesIndustry.biz reports (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=31416).
According to a judge, Fantom had "illegally used 80 per cent of the storyline, setting, characters and their style of dress" for a music video by singer Ivy.
"Square Enix will continue to take decisive action against any infringements upon the company's intellectual property, recognising that this property is one of our most crucial resources," said Yasuhiko Hasegawa, general counsel of Square Enix, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
"This judgement by the Seoul Central District Court is stringent in comparison to other copyright infringement cases in South Korea, and we appreciate that the maliciousness of this infringement has been recognised in a public forum," he added.
Fantom Entertainment has been fined USD 10,900, with additional fines each of USD 6500 for Lee Han-woo, director of the company, and Hong Jeong-ho, director of the music video.
Square Enix says its Final Fantasy franchise has sold more than 75 million copies over its ten year history.
*Ignore the fact that the article claims that Advent Children is a videogame*
The video for the song is actually a pretty spot-on recreation of the scene in the church where Tifa fights Loz, including all the over-the-top fighting moves and almost identical camera angles. It was also meant as a kind of homage to the film and I don't think any kind of copyright infringement was intended at all - it's really like a fan creation that just happens to have been released by a professional singer.
From youtube, here's the video that's causing all the fuss:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6m01X8Qzkw