The saying that goes, "Imitation is the best form of flattery," falls on deaf ears if you "imitate" 80% of a companies’ intellectual property.
Such is the situation with Square-Enix who recently won a case against Fantom, a Korean entertainment company. According to psu.com a music video produced by Fantom Entertainment ""illegally used 80 per cent of the storyline, setting, characters and their style of dress," in a music video by musician "Ivy."
Fantom got their source material from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a computer generated film released by Square-Enix in 2005.
The lawyer for Square-Enix, Yasuhiko Hasegawa said, "Square Enix will continue to take decisive action against any infringements upon the company’s intellectual property, recognizing that this property is one of our most crucial resources. This judgment by the Seoul Central District Court is stringent in comparison to other copyright infringement cases in South Korea, and we appreciate that the maliciousness of this infringement has been recognized in a public forum."
The court’s decision says Fantom Entertainment is liable for fines of $10,900 USD with an additional $6500 USD to be paid by the company’s director and music video director.
