TOKYO -- The Intellectual Property High Court here ordered the Susaki Municipal Government of Kochi Prefecture to pay higher damages Oct. 7 over its interference with the business of the mascot Chiitan.

The ruling in the appeal upheld a Tokyo District Court decision ordering the municipal government to pay damages to the Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture-based company that owns Chiitan. The damages were increased to 18.87 million yen (about $120,000) from the 7.86 million yen (approx. $50,000) awarded in the first ruling.

According to the ruling, Susaki's local mascot Shinjo-kun, modeled on a Japanese river otter, has been used by the Susaki Municipal Government for promotional activities since around 2002 and won the "Yuru-Chara Grand Prix" mascot competition in 2016. Chiitan was created after a small-clawed otter kept by the company appeared alongside Shinjo-kun on a television program in 2017.

After videos showing Chiitan engaging in extreme antics, such as swinging a brush cutter around, were posted on social media, the city began alleging at news conferences and elsewhere that the character infringed its copyright.

The company had sought approximately 43 million yen (roughly $272,000) in damages, arguing in the lawsuit that the city's actions had interfered with its business. The city, meanwhile, filed a separate lawsuit seeking an injunction against the use of Chiitan.

Following the lower court decision, the appeals court also found that the city had "implicitly authorized the character's use," citing, among other factors, messages the city had sent to the firm that appeared to endorse the use of Chiitan.

In addition to cancellation fees for commercials, the court included in the damages lost profits from collaborative merchandise, which the lower court had not recognized. It found no copyright infringement and dismissed the city's appeal.

The Susaki Municipal Government issued a statement saying, "We will carefully examine the ruling before considering our response."

(Japanese original by Kotaro Adachi, Tokyo City News Department)