Konami warned by Fair Trade Commission

Konami has been warned by the Fair Trade Commission in Japan for possible monopolistic practices. In the warning, the Fair Trade Commission stated that Konami has been engaging in a possible act of monopoly involving baseball games using real teams in Japan since 2000.

Konami acquired an exclusive license with the Japanese Professional Baseball Association in April of 2000 to use real baseball teams and names. Their agreement also stated that Konami will have the responsibility to sublicense rights to other game companies unless there are legitimate reasons not to do so. However, Konami is suspected of purposely delaying or refusing to sublicense rights to a number of companies.

The license between the Japanese Professional Baseball Association and Konami ended this month, and the contract will not be renewed. The Japanese Professional Baseball Association will individually license rights to game makers from now on.