Major Copyright Win For Japanese Publishers: Court Orders Piracy Site Mangamura To Pay 1.7 Billion Yen In Damages

In a significant victory for the publishing industry in Japan in their ongoing battle against online piracy, the Tokyo District Court has ordered the former operator of manga piracy website Mangamura to pay 1.7 billion yen in damages to three major publishing houses: Shogakukan, Kadokawa, and Shueisha.

This ruling marks the largest copyright infringement pay-out in the Japanese publishing industry.

The publishers had jointly jointly filed a lawsuit against manga piracy website, Mangamura, seeking a total of over 1.9 billion yen (USD 14.3 million) in damages, due to Mangamura illegally pirating 17 titles owned by the three publishers.

In a joint statement at a press conference held in Tokyo following the big win, the representatives of the three publishing houses explained their motivations for filing the lawsuit, emphasizing the importance of holding perpetrators accountable for their actions and protecting the rights of content creators.

They highlighted the significant impact of Mangamura on the publishing industry and stressed the ongoing need for vigilance against online piracy, both domestically and internationally.

“As the largest piracy website at the time and a symbol of piracy, we, the three plaintiff companies, jointly filed the lawsuit out of our responsibility to create an environment where authors can create with peace of mind and publishers can fulfill their duty to protect the works they have poured their hearts and souls into.“

They further stated “We believe that the significant damage caused by ‘Mangamura’ to published content is still profound and cannot be fully recovered. . However, we believe that the recognition of the plaintiff companies’ claims in this ruling and the determination of the damages of 1.7 billion yen for the 17 works of the plaintiff companies alone is a fair outcome. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit with the aim of deterring infringements through pirate sites. This lawsuit has once again become an opportunity to address the problem of pirate sites widely. Publishers will continue to take measures against infringements through various means to protect their works, not only domestically but also in countries where serious damages are still occurring.”

While acknowledging that domestic piracy websites have decreased due to their efforts, the publishing houses recognized the emergence of new challenges, such as spoiler sites and uploads on social media. They emphasized the need to continue their efforts to combat piracy, particularly overseas, where the situation remains severe.

“There are still issues such as spoiler sites and uploads on SNS. There has been an effect as domestic pirate sites have been decreasing, but the situation of pirate sites for overseas readers remains severe. It is the duty of publishers to continue to address this issue internationally.“

They also highlighted the growing issue of illegal uploads on social media platforms like TikTok, particularly among younger users. They expressed their commitment to raising awareness and educating the public about the importance of respecting copyright.

In its judgment, the court recognized that Mangamura facilitated illegal access to manga by allowing users to view content without downloading it, effectively circumventing legitimate purchasing channels.

The former operator employed various methods to illegally publish manga, including manual uploads to the site’s server and making images uploaded by third parties viewable on the site. The court determined that these actions constituted copyright infringement.

Despite the operator’s claims that Mangamura functioned similarly to a “reach site” and was not subject to regulation prior to amendments to the Copyright Law in 2020, the court rejected this argument. It ruled that the site’s actions enabled the transmission of copyrighted material and were therefore illegal.

The operator expressed disappointment with the court’s ruling. He reiterated his assertion of innocence and vowed to continue fighting the legal battle.

“I asked for a fair judgment, but it is disappointing that the ruling ignored the evidence.“

The administrator of Mangamura website, Romi Hoshino a.k.a. Zakay Romi, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2021 and slapped two fines-one for 10 million yen (USD 91,000) and another for 62 million yen (USD 565,000), based on the revenue earned from the site and deposited to a foreign bank account.