"漫画"の危機!?(長文注意:英文)

　どうも、ヨーロッパの方の会社で、"Manga"という単語を商標登録しようと
いう動きがあることを知りました。

　Milky-Wayからの孫転載です。

　以下に原文を掲載致します。

---ここから原文---
#: 572337 S5/Japanimation
    28-Apr-94  05:22:28
Sb: #"Manga" trademarked?
Fm: Chris Swett, AsstOp 72736,433
To: all

Sumiko Nagai (Go Nagai's wife) wrote me a fax today. She says:

"The other day, I was surprised to hear the story from French journalists that

MANGA ENTERTAINMENT Ltd. (Is this English Company?) made a formal application
to trademark the word "Manga" in all uses relating to videos, books, and
related merchandising. If this application is accepted, it will be illegal for

anyone to refer to "Manga" without specific permission from MANGA ENTERTAINMEN
T

Ltd. under European Law.

"If this story is true, it will give a big trouble to the future of Manga in
the world scale. Dynamic Production has already let Manga Japan (recently,
Story Manga creators in Japan made this association) knows it, and they will
try to suspend it. For your interest, I'm faxing the paper written by English
man about this story. This paper seems to be a copy of copy of copy... still I

hope you can read it."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                   Flat 46
                                                   161 Corporation Street
                                                   Coventry
                                                   CV1 1FR
                                                   UK

                                                   7 March 1994


Dear fellow Otaku,

           MANGA ENTERTAINMENT LTD ATTEMPT TO TRADEMARK "MANGA"

On 10 June 1993, Manga Entertainment Ltd. made a formal application to
trademark the word "Manga" in all uses relating to videos, books, and related
merchandising. The Patents and Trademarks Journal lists this application as
follows:

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF TRADEMARK

Applicant:                   Manga Entertainment Ltd.
Trademark applied for:       Manga
Nos:                         1538129
                             1538130
                             1538131
                             1538132

If this application is accepted, it will be illegal for anyone to refer to
Manga without specific permission from Manga Entertainment Limited. Dark Horse

may be sued for trademark infringement by virtue of their comic "Manga Mania".

Antarctic Press in the United States may suffer similar legal action, as they
publish a comic called "Mangazine". An Italian company publishes a magazine
with a similar title, they could be prosecuted under European Law. The list
could go on, but I hope you have got the point by now.

There is a limited time during which this application may be challenged. The
time is now> Please write immediately to:

     Patent Office
     Trademark Registration Department
     Cardiff Road
     Newport
     Gwent NP9 1RH
     United Kingdom

Quote the above application, especially the numbers. State that you wish to
object to this application on one or more of the following grounds:

- Manga is a recognized word in the Japanese Language, meaning "irresponsible
pictures or comics", and has been in common use since the ninteenth century.

- It has been, and still is, commonly used to describe comic books and comic
strips in Japan. It is also in common use in English-speaking countries, such
as the United Kingdom and the United States, to describe comic books or comic
strips from Japan, or in Japanese style.

- It is used as titles for existing publications such as "Manga Mania" in the
UK, "Mangazine" in the United States, and the Kodansha publication "Manga
Manga" by Fred Schodt. The latter was published in 1982, a full ten years
before Manga Entertainment Ltd's application.

This is neither the time nor the place to dwell on the nature of the
application nor those who made it. It is, quite simply, wrong, and must be
appealed against by as many people as possible. Please do so at once, it will
cost you a few minutes of your time and a first class (or airmail) stamp. Tell

your friends what you are doing and why, ask them to write to the Patent Offic
e

as well. Photocopy this letter, mail it to other anime fans, put it on bulleti
n

boards if you're a computer person. And watch this space for further details; 
I

will let you know the outcome of this campaign.

Now get writing!

Best,
<s>

Harry Payne
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