U.S. Lawsuit For Ultraman Rights Settled

U.S. court ruling settles Ultraman rights in favor of Tsubaraya Productions.

The copyright for the first five Ultraman series has been returned to the parent company of Tsubaraya Production Co., Ltd. After a lengthy legal process spanning several years, the final judgment was reached by the court on April 18, 2018.

In 2015, UM Corporation had filed a lawsuit against Tsubaraya claiming that a document from 1976 showed an agreement to the rights to the Ultraman property. The case was ruled on back in November of 2017, which ruled that the agreement produced by UMC was not authentic. UMC attempted to file motions to have the ruling overturned, which were denied in March.

This decision will prevent the use of any Ultraman characters by UMC or any of its licenses. The ruling now allows for Tsubaraya to proceed with the active overseas expansion of Ultraman works.

Source: Tsubaraya