Tokyo District Court ruled on May 14, 2026, that UMC held no overseas exploitation rights to the Classic Ultraman Series after Tsuburaya Productions challenged the 1976 Document.

Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd. said the Tokyo District Court fully upheld its claims in a lawsuit against UM Corporation. The company sought confirmation that UMC held no overseas exploitation rights for the early Ultraman series. The company filed the lawsuit on March 5, 2024.

The court confirmed that Tsuburaya Productions’ July 10, 2014, termination notice was valid. It said the contract under the 1976 Document had been lawfully terminated. It said UMC held no rights to exploit the Classic Ultraman Series outside Japan.

Tsuburaya Productions said the dispute over overseas exploitation rights had continued for more than 25 years. It said that late Thai businessman Sompote Saengduenchai claimed in 1976 to have entered the document into the company’s records. It said UMC later claimed to have succeeded to those rights.

Tsuburaya Productions said it had consistently maintained that the 1976 Document was a forgery. It said the Supreme Court of Thailand in 2008 and a U.S. federal court in 2018 concluded the document was forged. It said a U.S. jury unanimously found the document to be forged.

Tsuburaya Productions said Sompote concealed the document for 20 years and disclosed it in 1996. It said Noboru Tsuburaya, identified as the company signatory, died in 1995. The company said past lawsuits in Japan did not determine that the document was a forgery.

Tsuburaya Productions said UMC and affiliates continued business activities and unauthorised acts in certain overseas regions. It said the 2014 termination notice sought to end the contract prospectively, even if valid, as a contract of indefinite duration. The company said the ruling confirmed its long-standing position.