Pokémon Company Uses Fan Music In Trailer Without Crediting The Fan
If you go take a look at all the different posts we've done on the topic of Pokemon, you will be left with one undeniable conclusion: the people behind Pokemon content take IP rights very seriously. This has particularly been true when it comes to some of the franchise's most dedicated fans trying to express their fandom by creating cool things. Ownership is everything here and the Pokemon people will simply not countenance anyone using its creation, because that's wrong.
It appears that the Pokemon people don't have any problem with using some of that same fan content without credit in reverse, however. A trailer recently came out for some Pokemon DLC and fans noticed the inclusion of a fan arrangement of music right away.
Fans are expressing their concerns after The Pokemon Company seemingly used fan-created music in a recent trailer for thePokemon Scarlet&VioletDLC,The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. The uproar began shortly after today'sPokemon Presentswrapped up. While many tuned in forupdateson things likeDetective Pikachu Returnsandthe aforementioned add-on content, musician NightDefined (a.k.a. ND) noticed that some of the footage featured music they created. In many cases, it might be an honor for a fan to see theirPokemonfan music creation used by a company they admire, but for ND, it was also a surprise.
While it does appear that ND's song was a different arrangement of existing Pokemon music, that still doesn't mean Pokemon automatically gets control over it. Still, while the artist pointed out that they had not received any credit for their work, they also expressed that they were honored that it was used.
But that's not really the point. ND Music did mention that they would have appreciated being asked or informed, never mind credited, if the Pokemon Company wanted to use their music in a trailer. After all, ND Music certainly credited everyone properly when the music was originally uploaded.
ND says The Pokemon Company included the music in its trailer without their permission, with no credit to be found. It's worth noting the musician's original upload does give credit to Nintendo, developer Game Freak, Creatures Inc., and The Pokemon Company, as well as composers Go Ichinose and Toby Fox, but the uncredited use of ND's specific arrangement in the trailer remains perplexing.
No it doesn't. This is all about myopic control. The Pokemon Company controls all the things when it comes to Pokemon. It didn't credit ND for the music because the music is theirs, in its view.
Simple politeness be damned, it would appear.