Subject To Pay Millions For Pirating Manga In Japan

The Tokyo District Court ordered the former owner of the Japanese-language manga piracy site "Mangamura" to pay Japanese publishers Shogakukan, Shueisha, and Kadokawa the sum of 1.7 billion yen (more than 11 million U.S. dollars). Press releases said this is the largest amount of money a judge has ordered in damages in a piracy case in Japan.

The companies sued "Mangamura" in 2022 for 1.9 billion yen, a figure calculated on the estimated damages from the piracy of 441 volumes out of a total of 17 mangas. Among these mangas were "One Piece", "Kingdom", "YAWARA!", "Dorohedoro", "Overlord", "Sgt. Frog", "Wise Man's Grandchild", "The Rising of the Shield Hero", "Trinity Seven", "Hinamatsuri", "Erased", "Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation", "Golden Rough", "Kanojo wa Uso wo Ai Shisugiteru", "Karakuri Circus", "Kengan Ashura", and "Tasogare Ryuuseigun".

The publishers alleged that the alleged owner of the site, identified as Romi Hoshino alias "Zakay Romi," earned revenue from advertising within the site. The defendant alleged that he did not operate the site, but was in charge of the development and management of the system.

The Fukuoka District Court convicted the defendant in June 2021 of copyright infringement and concealment of criminal proceeds. Hoshino, who was 29 at the time, was sentenced to three years in prison, a fine of 10 million yen (about $91,000) and an additional fine of 62 million yen (about $565,000), derived from income he earned from the site and deposited into a foreign account.

On the other hand, "Mangamura" is a Japanese-language manga piracy site that was launched in 2016. Authorities revealed that they had been investigating the site since May 2018, after the publishers filed criminal complaints. While some might consider the arrest of the Japanese operator of "Mangamura" irrelevant to those who consume anime and manga piracy in the West, this perception might not be substantiated.

Many of the anime and manga content leaks originate from Japan, which means that piracy in the Asian country can have a direct impact on the supply of illegal content internationally. Therefore, this "Mangamura" case and its legal resolution could have broader implications for those involved in anime and manga piracy outside of Japan.

Source: NIKKEI NEWS