A group called "Not A Basement Studio" launched a Manga Rock app that displays unauthorized, translated scans from hundreds of manga titles on Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad mobile devices on Tuesday. Among the titles that this free app reposts from a scanlation site are Fairy Tail, Air Gear, Soul Eater, Bakuman., Rosario + Vampire season II, Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, and Gakuen Alice. These titles and others have been licensed in North America.

The app allows users to read manga chapters online or download them for offline viewing. The disclaimer for the app states: "All manga, character, and logos
belong to their respective copyright owners." It also claims that Not A Basement Studio does not have any affiliation with the site that hosts the unauthorized manga scans. A similar program exists for the Android platform of smartphones.

Yen Press Publishing Director Kurt Hassler told ANN, "Given that content licensed by Yen Press appears on this application without our authorization, we are already in the process of contacting Apple to request the removal of the application until such time as our content has been removed." Among the Yen Press titles that this app displays are Soul Eater, Black Butler, and Black God. ANN is awaiting responses from Apple, Del Rey, Tokyopop, and Viz Media regarding this issue.

Update: Gratisites also released a 1.0 version of an app with unauthorized manga scans on Tuesday on Apple's App Store, although it has been available on the Android platform from a different developer. Green Onion Software has had a similar app for over a year. SavvyBurn LLC posted an app, but reports that Viz Media requested the removal of titles that it licensed. Another app by Brandon Gray has had manga titles removed due to copyright violations.

Unlike the Manga Rock app, these other apps charge for the initial download, although Manga Rock adds some features "as in-app purchase[s], totally optional." Manga Rock removed Yen Press titles from its catalog on Friday.