Interest
Arknights Developer Sends Cease & Desist Letter to NFT Anime Project For Copyright Infringement
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Hypergryph's Arknights smartphone game announced on its English Twitter account on Sunday that the developers have sent a cease and desist letter to the NFT platform Oldeus for copyright infringement. The tweet appended a copy of the cease and desist letter.
[Statement on Copyright Infringement of Roaring Flare Animated Video]
— Arknights_EN (@ArknightsEN) January 16, 2023
As the publisher of Arknights overseas and cooperating company with Hypergryph, Yostar will actively work together with Hypergryph to maintain the relevant rights and interests.#Arknights #Yostar pic.twitter.com/6OKsGNSLPv
Oldeus describes itself as "a web3 brand shaping the next generation of manga." Its Twitter account posted a 21-second animated video on January 5, which bore noticeable similarities to an animated cutscene from the Arknights game. Fans were quick to compare the footage:
— ZAries (@Diobayu87) January 8, 2023
Hypergryph further noted in its statement that Oldeus claimed on January 8 that members of Arknights' animation staff also worked on Oldeus' video and that Oldeus was in contact with Hypergryph to resolve the issue. Hypergryph categorically denied those claims, declaring that it had not received any communication from Oldeus before issuing the statement.
Oldeus' tweets on the subject have since been deleted.
Chinese developers Studio Montagne and Hypergryph released the Arknights game in China in May 2019, and then Yostar launched the game worldwide in January 2020. The Arknights: Prelude to Dawn anime premiered on TV Tokyo on October 28. Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan. Production on the second television anime, Arknights: Perish in Frost, has been greenlit at the Yostar Pictures studio.
Source: Arknights official English Twitter account via @VelocityCatte
