The Tokyo District Court ordered the former owner of the
Japanese manga piracy site “ Mangamura ” to pay
Japanese publishers Shogakukan , Shueisha and Kadokawa the
sum of 1.7 billion yen (more than 11 million US dollars). .
Press releases reported that this is the largest amount of money a judge has
ever ordered to be paid in damages in a Japanese piracy case.
The companies sued “Mangamura” in 2022 for 1.9
million yen, a figure calculated on the estimated piracy damages of 441 volumes
from a total of 17 mangas. Among these sleeves were “One Piece,”
“Kingdom,” “BLOOD!”, “Dorohedoro,” “Overlord,” and “Sgt. Frog, "Wise Man's
Grandchild," "The Rising of the Shield Hero," "Trinity
Seven," "Hinamatsuri," "Erased," "Mushoku Tensei:
Jobless Reincarnation," "Golden Rough," "Ai's Uso Kanojo
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 income from
advertising within the site. The defendant claimed that he
did not operate the site, but rather was responsible for the development and
management of the system.
The Fukuoka District Court handed down a
conviction in June 2021 against the defendant for copyright infringement
and concealment of criminal proceeds. Hoshino, who was 29 years old 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), resulting from of the income he obtained from the site and
which he deposited in a foreign account.
On the other hand, “Mangamura” is a Japanese 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. Although some might consider the arrest of the Japanese
“Mangamura” operator irrelevant to those who consume anime and manga piracy in
the West, this perception may not be founded.
Many of the leaks of anime and manga content
originate in Japan, meaning 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: NIKKEINEWS
