Hikone targets Hikonyan look-alike
An illustrator who designed the Hikonyan character as a mascot for the 2007 festival celebrating 400 years of Hikone Castle is in a battle with Hikone City over the rights to the character’s image:
The application form for the festival had stated that the copyright of the mascot would belong to the executive committee, and after the end of the eight-month-long festival, the rights were transferred to the city government. The city applied for registration of the trademark for the mascot’s three different images and name — which had also been selected from entries from the public — in March 2007, and the move was approved in January 2008.
The three registered images of Hikonyan are poses of it “sitting,” “jumping” and “holding a sword,” but products using other designs of the mascot were soon on the market. In November 2007, the illustrator filed for mediation to demand a halt to the use of the mascot’s trademark after the end of festival that month, claiming that it was being used excessively for various commercial purposes that differed to the original intent.
The city agreed to the illustrator’s request and also for the illustrator to use similar designs for children’s books other than the three images, under various conditions such as having consultations prior to the public release of the books and restricting sales of products using designs other than the three images.
Children’s books did appear, using a Hikonyan look-alike called “Hikone no Yoi Nyanko.” Then, stores across the area began selling souvenirs featuring the new character. The new character is presented in poses that are not the same as the three claimed by the official Hikonyan. Here’s a TBS news report that shows the difference between the two:
The presence of “Hikone no Yoi Nyanko” souvinears has annoyed the city government, especially since tourists have no idea that the character is not Hikonyan. They are urging distributors not to sell non-official Hikonyan products.
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
- Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)
