Protection of IP
At the Bandai Namco Group, we are working on measures to protect our IP from infringement by closely cooperating with external partners in order to deliver safe and secure products and services to customers as well as protect their worldviews.
Measures against Counterfeit Goods and Pirated Versions
Implement thorough measures against counterfeit goods
The Bandai Namco Group is working with rights holder organizations and authorities in various countries to further promote the protection of IPs, including taking action against counterfeit products, thereby strengthening infringement countermeasures and raising awareness of IPs. In this way, the Group is striving to protect the world view of its IPs and ensure the safety and security of its products and services.
As one facet of measures to address counterfeit products, Bandai Spirits uses stickers with special specifications featuring forgery prevention processing. These stickers, which are in principle applied to all TAMASHII NATIONS brand products for mature fan collectors, are used to verify that a product is genuine.
Initiatives in collaboration with the government and courts to eliminate counterfeit goods
To eliminate counterfeit goods, we are promoting initiatives not only with our own company but also in close cooperation with external partners and the government.
Bandai Namco and Bandai Spirits implement measures to stop counterfeit markets and websites in Japan and overseas and file injunctions with Japan Customs against import/export to quickly detect counterfeit goods, stop their proliferation, and eliminate them altogether.
As an example, in fiscal 2023, we simultaneously uncovered an overseas distribution group dealing in counterfeit the Mobile Suit Gundam products, seizing approximately 23,000 counterfeit products. In addition, to combat counterfeit products on e-commerce sites globally, we have also introduced an AI-based anti-infringement system, which removes more than 50,000 counterfeit products per year.
In fiscal 2023, Bandai Namco Amusement also implemented measures on a total of 75 occasions to eliminate infringement of counterfeit and illegal videos. This included measures to prevent intellectual property infringement related to the arcade game Taiko no Tatsujin in China and the removal of information related to emulators of the Mobile Suit Gundam EXVS2 series.
We will continue to strengthen cooperation with the government and promote initiatives to eliminate counterfeit goods.
Process Used to Eliminate Counterfeit Goods
Activities with the IIPPF to raise awareness of IP
In June 2023, the International Intellectual Property Protection Forum (IIPPF) hosted an event for Generation Z to raise awareness of IPs. The event was co-sponsored by the World Customs Organization (WCO). The theme of the event, which aimed to educate participants about the reality of counterfeit goods, was “Forefront of the World’s Battle against Counterfeits—A Better Society Made Possible with Intellectual Property.” At the event, presentations and panel discussions were held to introduce the current situation regarding the growing number of counterfeit goods in online transactions across the globe, efforts by companies combating counterfeit goods, and the dangers of counterfeit goods. IP representatives of Bandai, an IIPPF member, also took to the stage to make a presentation.
In this way, the Bandai Namco Group is working with the IIPPF and other rights holder organizations and authorities in various countries to further promote the protection of IP, including taking action against counterfeit products, thereby strengthening infringement countermeasures and raising awareness of IP.
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Measures to prevent unauthorized resale at Premium Bandai in Asia
Bandai Namco Asia continuously takes action against unauthorized resale and implements other measures to protect intellectual properties.
From March 2023, the sales platform of the e-commerce site Premium Bandai has implemented a two-stage anti-resale measure assuming use from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. At the end of March, the company identified all registrants with multiple accounts using the same telephone number and froze all accounts except the primary account to curb the unsolicited practice of using multiple accounts to buy up a large volume of popular products for resale. Furthermore, on August 4, the company officially introduced a two-factor authentication function using social media.
In addition to these measures, Bandai Namco Asia has placed a limit on the number of purchases per account for popular products to ensure fairness for all fans.
