AIC Wins Five-Year Legal Battle to Regain Stake in AIC Rights
The ruling gives AIC a formal stake in the company that controls its classic properties, potentially shifting the balance of power over those IPs.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
Anime International Company (AIC) announced on July 3 that it has won a civil suit against AIC Rights and producer Yoshikazu Maeda, with the company now recognized as a shareholder of AIC Rights. The lawsuit began in August 2021. The Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of AIC in March 2025, and subsequent appeals to the Tokyo High Court and Supreme Court affirmed the decision. AIC Rights was formed from a company split with AIC in 2015, taking most of AIC's intellectual property. In 2021, AIC Rights transferred partial ownership of some copyrights to Toei Agency.
The Supreme Court refused to hear the final appeal on May 27, 2026, ending a legal fight that began in August 2021. AIC had demanded the return of its shares in AIC Rights, which was created in 2015 when the company split and transferred most of its intellectual property to the new entity. AIC Rights then produced sequels like Battle Athletes Victory ReSTART! and Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki (2016, 2020). In April 2021, AIC Rights made an agreement with Toei Agency to share joint ownership of several franchises, including Megazone 23, Hades Project Zeorymer, Dangaioh, Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force, and Tenchi Muyo!. With AIC now a shareholder, the company has a direct say in how those legacy properties are managed.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News AIC Wins Legal Battle to Return as Shareholder of AIC Rights