Marigold Admits Using Stardom Images, Issues Apology

Marigold and Rossy Ogawa have apologized for infringing on Stardom’s copyrighted images.

Ogawa was one of Stardom’s founders but left the promotion to start Marigold. This, after Stardom accused him of poaching talent to create Marigold and firing him.

“We would like to inform you that we have come to know that he has poached many Stardom players and staff members, and we have decided to cancel this contract,” said Stardom at the time.

Ogawa responded by posting: “Suddenly, after yesterday’s event I was notified that my contract would be terminated. The truth of the matter may be told someday. I’m worried about the talent right now. Thank you for supporting Stardom for the past 13 years. From now on, it will be Stardom created by Bushiroad.”

Back in January, Stardom issued a statement without naming Marigold or Ogawa outright.

“Currently, card products utilizing the likenesses of former Stardom wrestlers (hereinafter referred to as ‘the subject products’) are being manufactured and sold by another company. Following an investigation conducted by our company, we have confirmed the following facts regarding the advertising copy for the subject products and some of the cards enclosed within them,” stated Stardom.

Stardom listed these reasons:

• The products bear the advertising text ‘Stardom Memorial’
  They use portraits of wrestlers from their time under our management
  They utilize intellectual property managed by our company, such as belts and logos
  They use photographic materials shot by our company for product use, and incorrectly display copyright notices attributing copyright to the other company

Stardom made its stance clear.

“However, as the company managing the rights to the aforementioned intellectual property and past athlete portraits, we have neither been requested to grant permission nor have we been involved in any way regarding the sale of this product. Moving forward, we intend to consider necessary measures to protect the intellectual property rights we hold or manage. We would appreciate your understanding of the above. Thank you for your kind attention,” stated Stardom.

Today, Marigold issued this statement on social media:

Apology Regarding Intellectual Property Infringement

We hereby announce that the card product titled “MAYU IWATANI 15th Anniversary Card Collection,” which our company released on January 3, 2026, and which uses the likeness of Mayu Iwatani (hereinafter referred to as “the Product”), has been identified by Stardom Co., Ltd. as infringing copyright and publicity rights, as well as violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.

Upon internal investigation, it was discovered that our company’s representative director, Hiroshi Ogawa, had used, without authorization, data that he had previously obtained and stored in connection with work related to Stardom Co., Ltd. This data was used in the Product without permission, thereby infringing on the copyrights and publicity rights owned or managed by Stardom Co., Ltd., and constituting unfair competitive practices. Upon this discovery, we immediately ceased the manufacture and sale of the Product.

Furthermore, some of the cards included in the Product are the property of Stardom Co., Ltd. Accordingly, the copyright notice “© Marigold Co., Ltd.” was incorrect, and we hereby correct it with this notice.

We sincerely apologize to Stardom Co., Ltd. and all related parties for the significant inconvenience and trouble caused by this matter. We recognize that the cause of this incident was our insufficient understanding of intellectual property rights, and we will strive to prevent any recurrence in the future.

We deeply apologize.

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— ロッシー小川 Rossy Ogawa (@rossyogawa) April 13, 2026