Kagoshima Prefectural Police has arrested 44-year-old Eiichirou Wakiyama for allegedly selling can badges (official product pictured) featuring characters and trademarks of the Love Live! series without permission. Wakiyama was arrested on suspicion of violation of copyright and trademark law, the first such enforcement related to the Love Live! series in Japan.

According to Kagoshima Prefectural Police, Wakiyama allegedly produced 13 badges featuring Love Live! characters and sold them on the Internet in April. Of these, 12 used registered trademarks or similar imagery. A report indicated that Wakiyama earned 500,000 yen (US$ 4,000) monthly from sales of the goods. Approximately 700 pieces of the badge were seized from the suspect's home. The investigation was conducted jointly with Ibaraki Prefectural Police at the request of the animation production company, Sunrise.

Love Live! The School Idol Movie, the latest installment of the series, opened in theaters in Japan on June 13. It held the top box office position in Japan for three consecutive weekends upon opening. Ticket sales have exceeded 1.4 billion yen (US$ 11.4 million) as of July 5 with more than 1 million tickets sold.

Source: Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun