Matt Schley
July 10, 2025 
Back in 2023, a paid event held in St. Petersburg, Russia featured art from multiple Kodansha properties, including Attack on Titan. Cool stuff, except it was held without permission from Kodansha. Oops.
The Japanese publisher brought the event organizer, IQ Art Management LLC, to court, and the Russian court sided with Kodansha, ordering IQ Art to pay 3.75 million rubles (about $50,000) in damages.
Says Kodansha in a press release sent out yesterday:
The lawsuit concluded on April 7, 2025, with the court largely ruling in favor of Kodansha. The court found copyright infringement in 15 works and ordered IQ to pay 3.75 million rubles in damages and 26,000 rubles in legal fees. Neither party appealed by the deadline and the judgment was finalized on June 24.
The ruling clearly demonstrates that intentionally infringing copyright and profiting from unauthorized events is unacceptable. It holds significant importance from an international copyright protection perspective.
Kodansha will continue to take strict measures against all forms of infringement, including unauthorized events, both domestically and internationally. Through these efforts, it aims to prevent the spread and escalation of damaged caused by copyright infringement and to protect the rights of authors and the interests of its readers.
Oddly, the court ruled that 15 of 18 manga shown at the Russian exhibition were infringements, which makes me wonder what the three that escaped the litigation were!
Source: Kodansha press release
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