Japan’s otaku world has a longstanding culture of independent creators making money from fan-made goods and content such as doujinshi. But with companies growing stricter about their intellectual properties, knowing how much you’re allowed to do without risking legal issues is becoming complicated. Nitroplus recently addressed such concerns, reaffirming their positive stance on fan activities. On August 18, the Japanese visual novel game studio announced that it allows fan creations (including doujinshi) as long as they are not “excessively commercial.”
Following several inquiries from fans who found it difficult to follow the studio’s existing derivative creation guidelines (which include rules about creative liberties, methods of selling, cumulative revenue limits, and expected revenue limits), Nitroplus has decided to leave things to fans’ discretion, with the loose condition of not making projects excessively profitable. When needed, the studio will make “comprehensive judgments” on transactions and determine whether these fall within the new boundaries. At the same time, the studio claims it will generally refrain from responding to individual cases, and asks fans to make judgements “within ethical bounds.”
For reference, Nitroplus’ previously mentioned guidelines permits the following: non-profit derivative works that are individually created, works exchanged through direct sales, have total cumulative sales of 200 units or less, an expected revenue of less than 100,000 yen (around $677 USD), and do not infringe upon the IP, Nitroplus, the creators, or public morals. For more commercial fan-made projects, Nitroplus has an “amateur copyright system” that creators can apply for.
What’s interesting is that in its latest announcement, Nitroplus encouraged fans to send them a copy of their doujinshi and other works, even providing a mailing address for the purpose.
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