Japanese high-end statue brand Prime 1 Studio (P1S for short), known by players as the "Rolex of the statue world", has recently been thrust into the spotlight due to a cross-border business dispute. On one side, domestic cooperative manufacturers accused it of defaulting on payments and defrauding goods worth about 1.6 million yuan; on the other side, P1S officially issued a statement categorically denying the debt, accusing the other party of infringement and threatening to take legal measures. Both sides insisted on their own opinions, and the incident fell into "Rashomon".
According to a disclosure posted by the domestic manufacturer involved in Xianyu, the factory has been cooperating with P1S-affiliated companies for five years and has participated in the production of many popular statues such as "Fate/stay night" and "Transformers". In February this year, the two parties negotiated to terminate the cooperation and liquidate, and signed a "Recycling Agreement" on February 5, agreeing that P1S would pay US$230,000 to recycle finished and semi-finished products. The next day, the other party sent a car to pick up 9 cars of goods, and provided a bank transfer slip that night, saying that because Hong Kong banks were closed on weekends, the money would not arrive until February 9.
However, this amount has not yet been recorded. As the Spring Festival approaches, hundreds of employees in the factory are waiting for their salaries, and the manufacturer has to temporarily advance wages. After multiple reminders failed, the manufacturer chose to call the police. However, since cross-border transactions were involved, the water bills provided by the other party lacked clearing codes, and it was difficult to verify whether the funds were actually remitted.
Because there are still some molds left in the factory, the manufacturer exercised its right of lien in accordance with relevant laws and recently auctioned its first product on a domestic second-hand platform - a complete set of 1/4 scale "Saber" production molds. The starting price has exceeded 60,000 yuan. The manufacturer said that more styles will be put on the shelves in the future to make up for the losses.
In the face of the accusation, Prime 1 Studio issued a statement through official channels, completely denying the fact that it owed money. The statement emphasized that the factory involved has "no direct legal relationship" with P1S. The factory's unilateral claims have been spread on social media, and it is currently cooperating with relevant departments to sort out the facts and take necessary procedures.
Regarding the factory's auction of molds, P1S made it clear that this infringed on its intellectual property rights and damaged the company's reputation. The statement said that the factory had carried out actions including auctioning statue molds owned by P1S, disrupting partners' offices to protest, and filing unfair claims. P1S warned that it will take stern response measures including legal measures against any behavior that may constitute the spread of false information and infringement of business reputation and intellectual property rights.