Photo courtesy of Tsuburaya Productions. ©TSUBURAYA PRODUCTIONS
Source: Tsuburaya Productions
Back on November 20, 2017, SciFi Japan broke the news that Tsuburaya Productions had won a lawsuit in Los Angeles Federal Court against UM Corporation, who had claimed they had acquired international licensing rights to the early Ultraman series and characters due to a controversial 1976 "Agreement". This victory allowed Tsuburaya to finally widely market the Ultraman franchise in territories like North America, offering official merchandising, streaming, events, and home video releases of most of the Ultra Series to fans for the first time.
Despite their loss to Tsuburaya, UM Corporation continued to make licensing deals for Ultraman in some Asian countries, forcing Tsuburaya to file -- and win -- additional lawsuits. Today, Tsuburaya Productions has issued press releases (in both English and Japanese) detailing their latest victory in Tokyo District Court...
Tsuburaya Productions Wins Lawsuit Confirming Non-Existence of Overseas Exploitation Rights Under the “1976 Document”
Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, President: Masayuki Nagatake) hereby announce that, on May 14, 2026, the Tokyo District Court handed down a judgment fully upholding our claims (hereinafter the “Judgment”) in a lawsuit we filed against UM Corporation (hereinafter “UMC”) seeking confirmation of the non-existence of overseas exploitation rights for the early Ultraman series (hereinafter the “Classic Ultraman Series”).
- Background of the Lawsuit
For over a quarter of a century, we have been compelled to contest the overseas exploitation rights for the Classic Ultraman Series. These rights were claimed to have been granted under the so-called “1976 Document” (hereinafter the “1976 Document”), which the late Mr. Sompote Saengduenchai (hereinafter “Mr. Sompote”), a Thai businessman, claimed to have entered into with us in 1976, and which UMC subsequently claimed to have succeeded to.
We have consistently maintained that the 1976 Document is a forgery. Based on handwriting analysis and other evidence, both the Supreme Court of Thailand (2008) and the U.S. Federal Court (2018) have previously issued judicial rulings concluding that the document was indeed a forgery. In the U.S. litigation, the jury unanimously found the document to be forged. This conclusion was supported by the highly suspicious fact that Mr. Sompote concealed the document’s existence for twenty years, only disclosing it in 1996, one year after the passing of Noboru Tsuburaya, who was identified as the signatory for our company. Regrettably, however, due to circumstances in past lawsuits in Japan where the 1976 Document was not determined to be a forgery, UMC and its affiliates continued to rely on the document to pursue business activities and unauthorized acts in certain overseas regions.
In order to put an end to UMC’s unauthorized activities, we issued a notice of termination of the 1976 Document to UMC and other relevant parties on July 10, 2014. This notice was intended to terminate the contract, on the premise that even if the contract were valid, prospectively as a contract of indefinite duration. On March 5, 2024, we filed a new lawsuit seeking confirmation that such termination was valid and that UMC holds no overseas exploitation rights in the Classic Ultraman Series thereafter.
- Regarding the Judgment
In the Judgment, the Tokyo District Court confirmed that the notice of termination we issued on July 10, 2014, is valid and that the contract under the 1976 Document had been lawfully terminated. Consequently, the Court confirmed that UMC does not have any rights to exploit the Classic Ultraman Series works outside of Japan.
- Future Business Development
This Judgment firmly vindicates the legitimacy of our long-standing position regarding the 1976 Document. We remain fully committed to driving global expansion and further development of the “Ultraman Series” moving forward.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our business partners, stakeholders, and all Ultraman fans worldwide for their continued patronage and support.
「76年書面」に関する利用権不存在確認訴訟の勝訴判決について
株式会社円谷プロダクション
当社（本社：東京都渋谷区、代表取締役：永竹 正幸）が、ユーエム株式会社（以下「ユーエム社」といいます）を被告として提起しておりました、初期ウルトラマンシリーズの日本国外利用権に関する「利用権不存在確認請求事件」につきまして、2026年5月14日に、東京地方裁判所において、当社の主張が全面的に認められる勝訴判決（以下「本判決」といいます）が言い渡されましたので、お知らせいたします。
- 訴訟の背景について
タイ人実業家の故サンゲンチャイ・ソンポテ氏（以下「ソンポテ氏」といいます）が1976年に当社との間で締結したと主張し、その後ユーエム社が承継したとされる、いわゆる「1976年書面（以下「76年書面」といいます）」に基づく、初期ウルトラマンシリーズ作品の日本国外における利用権（以下「本件利用権」といいます）を巡り、四半世紀以上にわたり争いを余儀なくされてまいりました。
当社は一貫して76年書面は偽造されたものであると主張し、タイ最高裁（2008年）および米国連邦裁判所（2018年）においても、筆跡鑑定などの結果を踏まえて同書面が偽造であるとの司法判断が下されてきました。 米国の訴訟では、ソンポテ氏自身が76年書面の存在を当社側に開示してきたのは、当社側の署名者として表示されていた円谷皐が逝去した1995年の翌年の1996年のことであり、20年もの長きに亘って隠蔽していたという不自然な事実も、陪審員全員が偽造の判断を下す結果に繋がったものと理解しています。ただ、残念ながら、過去に日本で行われた訴訟においては76年書面を偽造と判断しなかった事情があったことから、その後もユーエム社側が同書面を根拠とした海外の一部地域での展開や侵害行為を継続していました。
当社は、ユーエム社側の無断行為を止めるため、2014年7月10日付でユーエム社等に対して76年書面に係る契約の解約通知を行い（仮に契約が有効であったとしても、期間の定めのない契約として将来に向かって解除するもの）、2024年3月5日に、この解約が有効であり、それ以降ユーエム社の日本国外における本件利用権が存在しないことの確認を求める訴訟を改めて提起しておりました。 - 判決について
本判決において、裁判所は、2014年7月10日に当社が行った解約通知は有効であり、76年書面に係る契約は、適法に終了していることを確認した上で、ユーエム社が日本国外で初期ウルトラマンシリーズ作品を利用する権利を持たないことを法的に確認しました。 - 今後の事業展開
本判決は、76年書面に関する当社の主張が正当であることを確認した判決であり、当社は、今後も、「ウルトラマンシリーズ」の更なる発展に向けてグローバル展開を推進してまいる所存です。
お取引先様、ご関係者様、ウルトラマンシリーズファンの皆様におかれましては、今後とも変わらぬご愛顧賜りますよう、よろしくお願い申し上げます。
About Tsuburaya Productions
Tsuburaya Productions, creator and copyrights owner of the superhero ULTRAMAN series was founded in 1963 by Eiji Tsuburaya, world-renowned special effects wizard also known for his special effects work on the Godzilla series. With more than fifty years’ experience, it is one of Japan’s oldest and most respected independent film and television production houses. Its popular Ultraman TV and film series which premiered in 1966 has been seen in over 100 territories worldwide and has spawned over 3,000 licensed products. In addition to production, the company also handles character licensing and program distribution and staging live stage shows both domestically and internationally.