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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's Latest Copyright Attempt Gets Denied


Credit: Shueisha

There's no denying that Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is one of the hottest, if not the hottest anime property in the world right now and the series has all the financial credentials to back up that claim. One of the biggest factors contributing to Demon Slayer's increase in revenue is obviously the merchandising. However, Shueisha is apparently experiencing a bit of a copyright snafu with its latest series of trademark attempts.


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Credit: Shueisha

Huffington Post Japan reported (via ComicBook) that Shueisha has filed several trademarks for the clothing patterns of some of Demon Slayer's characters — Giyū Tomioka, Shinobu Kocho, and Kyōjurō Rengoku to ensure that they make merch profit out of them. While the production company was successful in its initial round of trademarks, Shueisha bafflingly came up short in securing trademarks for the clothing patterns of the anime's main characters Tanjirō Kamado, Nezuko Kamado, and Zenitsu Agatsuma.


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Credit: Shueisha

The trademark is said to cover a diverse range of commodities such as smartphone covers, video game software, clothing, and more merchandising items. The reason behind Tanjirō, Nezuko, and Zenitsu's trademarks being denied by the patent office still remains unclear. However, Huffington Post Japan spoke with a law expert who suggested that the snafu may have had something to do with the simplicity of the patterns' designs.

Despite the latest copyright debacle, it's safe to assume that Shueisha will stop at nothing and will once again attempt to have the said Demon Slayer patterns trademarked. I mean, they can't afford to lose a lot of money due to third-party manufacturers releasing knock-off merch so expect Shueisha to file new trademarks in the coming days.

In other Demon Slayer news, here's where you can watch the Mugen Train film in the US.


Also Read:Is Mugen Train Canon? Demon Slayer Movie Canon Status Explained

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