Notice Regarding Backer Reward Shipping

I would like to provide an update regarding the current status and schedule of the backer rewards.

First of all, I sincerely apologize for the delay in shipping the rewards.

Some backers may be wondering why the shipment has been delayed despite previous announcements stating that the merchandise had already been manufactured and delivered. I would therefore like to explain the current situation.

The photos above are being reposted for backers who may have missed the previous merchandise production update.

These photographs were taken when some of the remaining merchandise was displayed at an exhibition after production had been completed last year.

As you can see, the merchandise itself had already been fully produced.

However, an issue later arose regarding the font used in the merchandise.

Fonts—the typefaces we use when creating documents or working in programs such as Microsoft Word or Hancom Office—are often protected by copyright held by their creators.

When the merchandise was originally produced, this issue had been taken into consideration. A font that was distributed free of charge was used, and at the time it was clearly stated that the font was available to all users and could also be used for commercial purposes.

At the time of production, the copyright holder of the font was a game company, and matters related to game usage were handled separately within the commercial-use policy. To avoid any potential copyright-related issues, I contacted the company that owned the font rights, informed them of the intended usage, and began the process of obtaining permission.

The problem was that this process took far longer than expected, and during that time the company entered liquidation and ceased operations.

As a result, all previous communications and inquiries effectively became invalid.

I was then forced to determine whether the font's copyright had been transferred to a parent company or shareholders, or whether the rights had lapsed and been transferred to the state.

I was also advised that even if a font had previously been approved for commercial use, the scope of that permission could potentially change during a transfer of ownership. As a result, seeking legal advice and identifying the proper rights holders took a considerable amount of time.

To summarize the current situation:

Despite numerous attempts to contact the relevant parties and resolve the matter, I have still been unable to obtain a definitive answer regarding the production and distribution of merchandise containing the font in question.

However, I have concluded that it is no longer possible to delay the process indefinitely.

Therefore, all merchandise containing the disputed font will be discarded, and new merchandise will be produced using a different font with clearly documented licensing and copyright terms.

Before placing a new production order, I am currently reviewing the merchandise specifications and all related licensing matters, particularly font licensing. Once this review has been completed, I will immediately proceed with production and do my best to ship the rewards as quickly as possible.

Once again, I sincerely apologize for the delay in the shipping schedule.

Thank you.