New Uma Musume Fan content rules now ban commercial purposes

Despite owning the rights to anime, manga, and games, few Japanese companies prohibit fans from producing and selling doujins based on famous works. It is perfectly normal to go to Comiket and pay for something produced by a fan, be it illustrations, merchandise, manga, games, etc.

However, Uma Musume has updated its rules regarding commercial use. Cygames announced on April 28 a significant update to the doujin guidelines related to the Uma Musume franchise. The change establishes new prohibitions for fan productions, with a focus on preventing the commercial use of these creations.

New Uma Musume Fan content rules now ban commercial purposes

The Uma Musume series is known for transforming real racehorses into cute girls in a universe that mixes sports and idols. Given its origin based on real figures, the company has always been careful about how these characters are represented in content created by third parties.

Previously, five categories of content were explicitly prohibited:

• Anything that harms the image of the racehorses or characters;
• Violent, grotesque, or sexual content;
• Political, religious, or ideological promotion or defamation;
• Antisocial or offensive depictions;
• Anything that infringes third-party rights.

With this new update, two more restrictions have been added. Fan content that is created for commercial gain or profit — beyond what is considered typical doujin activity — is now officially banned. In addition, Cygames reserves the right to reject content deemed “inappropriate according to the spirit of these guidelines.”

The timing of the change aligns with a major announcement made just one day earlier. On April 27, Cygames revealed that Uma Musume: Pretty Derby will be released on Steam with an English version launching on June 26. With the expansion into global markets, the company is reinforcing its rules to protect its IP across different regions and cultures.

It’s common for Japanese companies to tighten fanart regulations as their works gain international attention. The emphasis on banning commercial use is especially important when entering markets with stricter copyright laws, like North America.

If you’re a fan artist working with Uma Musume characters, it’s crucial to review the updated guidelines carefully. Failure to comply could result in takedown requests, bans from events, or even legal consequences.