AD Vision Charges FUNimation of Monopolizing
In the latest major turn in FUNimation’s ongoing suit seeking approximately $8 million in unpaid licensing royalties plus interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees from AD Vision and its current incarnations as Section23 affiliates, AD Vision has filed a countersuit charging that FUNimation’s lawsuit is “the culmination of Funimation’s illicit scheme designed to obliterate competition in the market for Japanese anime.” ADV claims that FUNimation “willfully and intentionally” sabotaged ADV’s working relationship with Japan’s ARM Corporation, leading to ADV’s supposed default of licensing payments. ADV’s counterclaim against FUNimation asserts that FUNimation is in violation of Texas state anti-trust laws for being “”dangerously close to” achieving a monopoly in domestic anime distribution.
FUNimation has publicly responded to the counterclaim with the statement:
We believe these counterclaims are frivolous and will soon be dismissed. Funimation is obviously not a monopoly, has not sought a monopoly, and has never been in violation of any antitrust laws. Rather, these claims were brought in a transparent attempt to gain leverage in the case because the defendants lack any defense to Funimation’s original claims.
Seemingly as a result of ADV’s antitrust accusation, the lawsuit has been transferred from Harris County, Texas district court to Southern District of Texas, Houston Division federal court.
Personal thoughts: when Sentai Filmworks has been dramatically outpacing FUNimation in title acquisitions this year, I find it difficult to accept their claim that they’re being pushed out of the licensing market.
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“We believe these counterclaims are frivolous and will soon be dismissed. Funimation is obviously not a monopoly, has not sought a monopoly, and has never been in violation of any antitrust laws.”
Except for the whole breaking up ADV’s home video deal with Geneon thing. 🙂
“when Sentai Filmworks has been dramatically outpacing FUNimation in title acquisitions this year, I find it difficult to accept their claim that they’re being pushed out of the licensing market.”
Well, it did seem unusually coincidental that FUNi decided to manufacture a huge debt the minute Sentai rebounded.
I kind of viewed the rise/decline of Sentai/FUNi licensing in the reverse… once Ledford and Co. officially exited their previous ARM Corp relationship, they entered a similar partnership with another company. Minus the albatross, Sentai Filmworks was formed and they went back to work. The fact that FUNi only squeezed out of ARM what ADV had once squeezed out of ARM isn’t ADV’s fault, is it? That’d be poor strategic foresight on the part of FUNi.
But speaking to the current balance of licensing and production/release, Sentai Filmworks is on top, no doubt — both in terms of quantity and quality, in my opinion. My guess is that Sentai is charging that when their ARM partnership was dismantled, it was with an eye toward monopoly at the time, which many observers to the western anime business kind of felt was inevitable for FUNi (who had the indefatigable financial backbone of Navarre, which would never fail… right?).