Studio Comet Co., Ltd. v. Sanrio Company, Ltd.
Who created Kuromi?
The record
- Court
- Japan (court not identified in English-language reporting)
- Jurisdiction
- Japan
- Docket No.
- not public
- Filed
- 2024
- Sanrio’s role
- Defendant
- Type
- Authorship
- Claims
- Moral rights — right of attribution
- Counsel — plaintiff/petitioner
- not public
- Counsel — Sanrio side
- not public
What happened
The studio that animated the 2005 "Onegai My Melody" series says one of its animators, Tomoko Miyakawa, designed Kuromi, and that Sanrio’s 2023 book "The Secrets of Kuromi" credited the character to Hello Kitty designer Yuko Yamaguchi instead. Studio Comet sued in 2024 over the credit.
Outcome
Pending.
The legal nuance
Japanese moral rights, including the right of attribution, stay with the human author and cannot be assigned away, even where a company owns the copyright by contract. Sanrio can own Kuromi outright and still owe a credit. That is the fight.
Procedural history
Kuromi created
Kuromi debuts as My Melody’s rival in the "Onegai My Melody" anime, produced by Studio Comet. The studio says its animator Tomoko Miyakawa designed her.
Sanrio publishes the credit
Sanrio’s book "The Secrets of Kuromi" credits the character to Yuko Yamaguchi, the longtime Hello Kitty designer, with no mention of Studio Comet.
Studio Comet sues
Studio Comet brings a moral-rights claim over attribution. Sanrio maintains it holds the copyright by contract and that credit was handled properly.
Pending
No public judgment. The court and docket number are not in the available English-language record.
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Sources of record