Manga creator demands $1 billion from Elon Musk
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A manga creator is demanding a billion dollars from Elon Musk for posting his art on Twitter without permission.
“Magical Girl Site” manga creator Kentarō Satō took to Twitter on Nov. 7 to call out the platform’s controversial new owner for an uncredited image he posted back in March.
Twitter社新CEOイーロン・マスクがTwitterで僕の絵を無断転載してるのでとりあえず使用料10億よろしくお願いします。ドルで。 https://t.co/QXU7uLkLJB
— 佐藤健太郎@不死と罰2巻発売中 (@sato_ken_taro) November 7, 2022
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“Twitter's new CEO Elon Musk has reprinted my drawings on Twitter without permission, so please give me one billion. In dollars," Satō tweeted in Japanese.
Satō’s post included a quote retweet of Musk’s post, which included an image of the character Aya Asagiri crying edited into a meme alongside a version of the Yes Chad meme.
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Originally from a manga illustration found in Chapter 103 of the manga series “Magical Girl Site," the image of Satō’s character became part of a meme that usually involves the character begging someone to do something for her and another character rejecting the request.
The manga creator also posted the manga panels where the meme originated from, including a link to the first volume of the manga.
件の絵の漫画です。#魔法少女サイト pic.twitter.com/E7cggvKWQk
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— 佐藤健太郎@不死と罰2巻発売中 (@sato_ken_taro) November 8, 2022
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— 佐藤健太郎@不死と罰2巻発売中 (@sato_ken_taro) November 8, 2022
While Satō's post appears to have been made in jest, some Twitter users have urged him to push through with the demand. Commenters engaged in a debate regarding whether Musk’s post constitutes copyright infringement or is covered by fair use.
The copyright holder is not only the creator of the image but the image is part of his published work. Simply inverting an image does not constitute an transformative content.
So it is a direct copyright infringement.https://t.co/aFoHFRbiM1— 🍊みかんの削り節🍊ﾌｫﾛﾊﾞ (@LUvUtLWpWpUQ9ss) November 9, 2022
Musk has yet to respond to Satō’s post.
Satō launched the “Magical Girl Site” horror manga in July 2013 and ended it in 2019 after 16 volumes, according to Anime News Network. The manga is currently being released in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, with the 16th volume launching on Nov. 23. An anime based on the manga was released in 2018.
Featured image via @Satō_ken_taro
