News

Fake C&D Letter

Geneon has confirmed that a Cease and Desist letter currently being distributed and purporting to be from Geneon Entertainment (USA), Inc, is fake. The letter, which is quoted below, informed fansubbers that they must cease the distribution of Amaenaideyo!!

Greetings,
I am sending you this notice to inform you that you
are violating a copyright law by distributing a motion
picture in which Geneon Entertainment (USA), Inc own
and/or control the exclusive rights of.

We therefore ask you to cease and desist all activity in
distributing "Amaenaideyo!!". Failure to cooperate with
us in any way may lead to prosecution. We are aware you
may not have known Geneon Entertainment (USA), Inc. held
this copyright, so please use this as a first and final notice.

Geneon Entertainment (USA), Inc. respects the fact fansub
groups, such as yourself, thrive on providing translated material to
dedicated viewers, but once a license is held by a U.S. firm,
it then becomes illegal activity for anybody but the license
holder to distribute the material.


We thank you in advance for your cooperation.


A. Holden


Geneon Entertainment (USA), Inc.

The letter falsely states, "once a license is held by a U.S. firm, it then becomes illegal activity for anybody but the license holder to distribute the material." It is in fact illegal (in most countries, including the USA and the EU, to distribute copyrighted material without the owner's permission, regardless of whether the material has been licensed in particular market.

Geneon informs us that any legitimate cease & desist that the company sends will include full company contact information, a person's full real name and would be on official Geneon letter head. Furthermore a statement would be made through online sources as well as the Geneon corporate website.