Following two cease & desist letters addressed to them from visual novel publisher, Minori (Ef), fan-translation group, No Name Losers, have at last ceased work on Ef. In their last C&D to NNL, Minori wrote:
If you wish to obtain an official license from us, handle the ratings issue, follow our requested procedures and sell and/or distribute [our software] within English-speaking circles, then there is the possibility of your visiting our office and discussing with us a license agreement. We would look forward to people following the proper procedure for getting things done.
Soon after, Minori updated their website with the following message:
Starting on July 14, 2010, we at minori have started constructive negotiations with the people at NO NAME LOSERS. We don’t know what will result from this, but we would like to report our results to everyone in the not-too-distant future. For now, please wait for the time being. Thanks.
Meanwhile, NNL, too, have taken the contents of their website down and replaced it with a notice stating they are in talks with Minori’s CEO. While it’s a little far-fetched to hope that NNL could raise the money to pay Minori a licensing fee and actually acquire publishing rights to the Ef games, it is encouraging to see that Minori are interested in bringing their games overseas.
