Authorities in China have arrested a well-known fan artist and MMD animator, Shirakami_san. He produces NSFW content and gets money for it via Patreon. Authorities cracked down on him not only for making NSFW content of copyrighted IPs, but also making money off of it. He can face up to ten years in prison for this. [Thanks, Yahoo!]
Shirakami_san is a 3D artist who produces NSFW animations. He has a Twitter, as well as a Patreon. Shirakami_san has created content for NieR Automata, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Genshin Impact. Some netizens believe it was the Genshin Impact content in particular that earned someone’s ire. As mentioned earlier, his Patreon appears to be the main issue for both the government and IP owners.
According to Dajiang News, Shirakami_san received over $1,830,000 CNY (approximately $255,195) via Patreon. The site reports that he “unlawfully” got this money. It also states that Shirakami_san was very remorseful. He states that in the future, he will never make anything no matter how much money he gets. Yahoo reports that several other Chinese fans have deleted their content from the net following this news.
Legal issues surrounding fanfiction and fanart can get messy and murky. Some IP holders may not care enough or at all. Others, with Anne Rice as a famous example, really do not like the idea of fanwork existing. Reports have not yet come out in regards to what sentencing Shirakami_san will get for this.
