Ruling may halt Ultraman TV series
The Intellectual Property Court's ruling on April 2 may abruptly suspend the highly anticipated Ultraman TV series, which is a spin-off from the original Japanese action-hero character, because the new Ultraman characters are deemed to be a copyright infringement.
Chaiyo Productions, a local company which produced the big-budget TV series, may be forced to cancel the screening of the 52-episode Ultraman series, called "Project Ultraman", starring Hong Kong actor Ekin Cheng.Production of the series, costing Bt150 million, is complete, and it is scheduled to be aired on Channel 7 in the next few months. Chaiyo Productions also expects the new Ultraman series to generate more than Bt600 million in revenue from advertising and sponsorship throughout the region. The company is also exploring other potential international markets. Hundreds of millions of baht more are expected to be generated from sub-licensing the Ultraman characters to manufacturers of toys and merchandise in many markets around the world. The Thai IP Court ruled that Sompote Sangduenchai and his production house Chaiyo Productions could not claim the rights for Ultraman products except for nine Ultraman movies that Sompote co-produced many years ago. The ruling was made in response to a complaint made by Tsuburaya Productions, the Japanese license-holder of the Ultraman character. Moreover, the court said that Sompote could not claim the copyrights of new Ultraman characters created by Tsuburaya Productions and could not distribute Ultraman Millennium, Dark Ultraman and Ultraman Elite created by Chaiyo. Sompote and his companies have one month in which to appeal the IP Court's ruling. Apart from the TV series, Sompote and his companies have sold the rights for the new Ultraman characters to several companies which produce related merchandise. RSi Dream Entertainment, the company's event-organising subsidiary, signed a con- tract yesterday with Chaiyo Productions for five-year exclusive marketing rights for its "Project Ultraman" 52-episode television series in Thailand and some neighbouring countries. "We have to cease all of our activities and wait to see how Khun Sompote clears the issue with the Japanese license-holder," RSi Dream Entertainment managing director Boonperm Intanapasat said. "Luckily, we haven't spent a big budget promoting the series," he added. Rsi Dream Entertainment planned to generate between Bt60 million and Bt70 million from the Ultraman series, showbiz productions, sponsorships, home video and marketing events in the first year. A legal advisor to Apex Toys, a local toy-maker which has been awarded the right by Chaiyo Productions to manufacture and distribute toys and merchandise of the new Ultraman characters, said that the company had yet to receive any details from Chaiyo about their legal status. "The dust has yet to settle," he said. "We need to wait for a final solution as the case is just at the Court of First Instance stage and may be passed on to Appeals and finally the Supreme Court." Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn The Nation
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