Is the end of anime leaks near?

Recently, Twitter user @AsarathaHS revealed that the giant anime production companies Toho and Aniplex have initiated legal action to identify those responsible for the leaking of anime episodes before their official releases. According to the information shared, both companies have filed a request to obtain a subpoena that would allow Twitter to provide information about 12 accounts linked to the unauthorized dissemination of content. This is a clear effort by companies to take legal action against alleged offenders.

In the documentation filed by Toho and Aniplex, 12 Twitter accounts are named that would have shared images and content from anime episodes before their premiere. The accounts listed include:

@WERLeaks / @msthshra / @\IDuckyx / @Nakayasee / @knyesta / @Saara Adam21 / @Snowz7x / @seveninone71 / @jobisky / @SinzsSzn2 / @Root25257968 / @mamutchiq2030

The Legal Process: A Subpoena to Obtain Information from Users

These accounts have been pointed out as possibly responsible for publishing unauthorized images of episodes before the release date, which constitutes a violation of the copyright of the production companies. In addition, Toho and Aniplex identified three key methods used to detect these leaks:

Release of unauthorized images of episodes prior to their release.
Using intentionally incorrect information in credits to catch those who leak content.
Incorporation of watermarks in the episodes that allow the source of the leaks to be traced.

Since Toho and Aniplex are foreign companies, their ability to legally subpoena Twitter and obtain the data of offending users is limited. For this reason, they have requested a subpoena that allows them to access the personal information of the accounts in question, to later proceed with legal action. Among the data they seek to obtain are:

The names of the users.
The email addresses associated with accounts, including those used for password recovery.
The phone numbers linked to the accounts.
The payment methods on file.
Account access logs, which include IP addresses and access type.

The information was obtained through Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER), a tool that allows access to public court records. This makes it clear that the case is in a serious phase of investigation.

What's next for the accounts under investigation?

Toho and Aniplex are looking to gather as much information as possible about these accounts in order to, once identified, proceed with civil lawsuits against the alleged leakers. Without this data, companies cannot take formal legal action against users who would have shared content without authorization.

It is important to note that Toho and Aniplex's investigation is focused exclusively on leaks of anime episodes, not manga, and the legal procedures in these cases are usually slow. In fact, many point out that this process could already be underway for some time. In addition, there is a second subpoena filed by Shogakukan on August 20, although the details of the accounts investigated in that case have not been released so far.

Some users have pointed out that the accounts mentioned are not directly linked to the current leaks, but they could have been caught by one of the detection methods used by the companies, such as posting watermarked images. Even if users aren't directly responsible for the leaks, sharing images with built-in watermarks might have been enough to put them under investigation.

This case highlights the growing efforts of anime production companies to protect their intellectual property in the digital age, where leaks can seriously damage both the commercial impact and control of the narrative of releases.

Source: @AsarathaHS en Twitter