Dragon Ball Copyright Controversy: Kampar MP Chong Zhemin’s office has submitted applications to paint more murals depicting characters from ‘Pokémon’, the popular Japanese anime series, the Kampar District Council (MDKPR) has confirmed.
The case comes as the copyright dispute over the Chong-endorsed ‘Dragon Ball’ mural remains unresolved.
Council Receives New Mural Application Amid Dragon Ball Copyright Controversy
MDKPR president Ahmad Suqairy Alias said in an email to Malaysiakini that the council received a second request from Chong’s office on May 7 for more murals to be painted.
The date comes just a day after Chong and Keranji assemblyperson Angeline Koo revealed a mural depicting anime characters from the ‘Dragon Ball’ series next to a DAP branch on Jalan Pejabat Pos, Kampar sparked a dispute over Copyright.
Locations and Details of Proposed Murals
The second application seeks to paint murals on the walls of buildings number 80 and 82 on Jalan Idris, Suqairy said. They are about a five-minute walk from the ‘Dragon Ball’ mural.
He said the application did not give details of the proposed mural, only saying it depicted ‘Pokémon’ characters.
“Essentially, the Kampar MP’s office proposed drawing the Pokémon anime on buildings 80 and 82 Jalan Idris, and the council has no objections to the application and gives conditional approval,” Suqairy added without specifying what those were.
‘Pokémon’ is a Japanese multimedia franchise developed by Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures. It includes animations, video games, comics, card games, toys and others.
Previous Murals and Local Art Initiatives
The MDKPR also supports a project called Ilham Seni Kampar (Kampar Art Inspiration).
According to Suqairy, the council commissioned a team to paint murals, but the theme revolved around the features, tourist attractions and products of Kampar and did not refer to cartoon characters.
The walls adjacent to Building number 80 and 82 on Jalan Idris, where Chong’s office plans to paint the ‘Pokémon’ mural, are reported to already have murals as part of the Ilham Seni Kampar initiative, including a fresco depicting a woman collecting lotus flowers, and another with white water rafting.
Implications for the Virtual Reality Anime City Project
Suqairy clarified that the district council is not involved in promoting murals depicting anime characters, nor in the Virtual Reality Anime City project run by Chong’s office.
“The MDKPR has not received any application from Chong to jointly promote the Virtual Reality Anime City in Kampar,” he said.
Furthermore, he stressed that only Chong was approved by the district council to paint murals at the aforementioned locations, and the applicant must ensure that the contents of the mural do not infringe on any copyright. Applicants must also obtain permission from the building owners.
Dragon Ball Copyright Controversy: Legal Concerns and Future Prospects
The controversial “Dragon Ball” mural next to the Keranji DAP branch is four stories high and covers an area of approximately 150 square meters.
The mural also has interactive features. Visitors can take a photo with one of the characters using augmented reality by scanning a QR code next to it, thanks to the interactive features of the mural.
It is part of Chong and Koo-initiated Virtual Reality Anime City project.
On May 6, they announced that they would create more murals like this with other cartoon characters if they found suitable locations to attract more tourists to Kampar.
However, Malaysian Association for Creative Intellectual Property (MYCIP) president Lau Shaw Ming said last week that while the mural was not an admission-based attraction, its large size required approval from Japanese rights holders.