Inafune Will Still Draw Mega Man for You, But Reminds You Who Still Owns Him

TMMN Staff

October 13, 2012

The pic at right came from PlayStation Europe’s Twitter a few months back, following a visit from none other than former Mega Man Producer Keiji Inafune to their offices. And, as is often his custom, he even made a quick sketch of the Blue Bomber for the staff there. But this one is a little bit different…
If you take a closer look (click the thumbnail to enlarge), you can see that since he has parted ways with Capcom, Inafune is careful to include a note which says “© Capcom.” This is, of course, due to the fact that Inafune is no longer involved with the Mega Man series, and to no doubt protect him from legal action out of Capcom.

But could Capcom file a case against Inafune for producing autographed sketches of Mega Man? Well, none of us here are lawyers, so the best we can offer is a “maybe.” Earlier this year, former Marvel creative talent Gary Friedrich found himself on the losing end of a case which now prevents him from drawing Ghost Rider, a character he co-created, for fans at comic conventions.

Could the same apply in this situation? Maybe; of course, Friedrich threw the first stone at Marvel, and was making money from those drawing to boot, so that does seem to differentiate the two somewhat. Plus, Capcom is no Disney (owners of Marvel Comics). Still, if we were Inafune (and you can just imagine how crowded it would be in his head as a result), we probably wouldn’t take any chances, either.

Thanks for the tip, Rockman!