@Ichnob:
So while Kubo might not want to do anything, Viz surely doesn't see it that way. Right now, Nick's publisher has put his comic on indefinite hiatus while it looks into the matter. Viz is also trying to take action. Other news sites have picked up on this story outside of the LJ, dA, and Facebook communities.
I forgot about them.
Yeah, it makes sense those godless maggots would be unzipping their pants at the opportunity to sue.
@Ichnob:
While doujin sellers at Comiket are selling copyrighted character material, they're pretty much treated in the same vein as fanart tables at conventions here ib the US, aren't they? Also, they're not actually tracing multiple poses, dialogue, and story arcs verbatim from the original work. Probably just a plot point, then work in their own story. Also, they're still not listing the characters as their own, unlike Nick the Prick, here.
Right, it never gets like this, where panels are clearly copied from existing manga. They just use the characters, plot, or something then write an original work off of it. Sort of like illustrated fanfiction, I guess.
I'm not familiar with fanart tables, but I don't think it is, since US copyright law is less strict than Japan. One could claim fair use I think for parody or something, in Japan there is almost no gray, it's black and white.
But doujin culture persists because the people who hold copyrights deliberately hold a blind eye to it. Even if someone is violating your copyrights, if you don't care or even encourage it it doesn't matter what the law says. Third parties who aren't the gov can't really get involved.