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Yomiuri Shimbun file photo A plaque shows the name of the Intellectual Property High Court, second from top, in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
18:40 JST, March 3, 2025
The Intellectual Property High Court’s judgment is a ray of hope for copyright holders of entertainment content, such as anime and movies, who have suffered an estimated ¥2 trillion worth of damages.
The estimated value of damages stemming from pirated content was between ¥333 billion and ¥430 billion in 2019, according to research by the Tokyo-based Content Overseas Distribution Association, which comprises copyright holders of such content. According to its estimate, the amount rose to between ¥1.95 trillion and ¥2.202 trillion in 2022.
The copyrighted content is posted not only on ordinary websites but also on websites used exclusively for hosting pirated content.
According to lawyers, Japanese courts tend to rule that posting pirated content online via foreign telecommunications service providers is not a violation of Japanese laws. For example, a district court in March last year reasoned that such postings do not constitute violations of the relevant law because the law only covers businesses in Japan.
Some lawyers seeking damages on behalf of copyright holders have even given up on Japan’s judicial process.
“If this interpretation by the Intellectual Property High Court takes root, it will become easier to file lawsuits against foreign companies, and the door to recovering damages will open wider,” said Kazuya Tanaka, a lawyer who is an expert in rights violations on the internet.
On the other hand, the number of confirmed websites distributing pirated manga and other entertainment is about 1,200 at home and abroad, according to ABJ, an anti-piracy body formed by Japanese publishing companies and telecommunications service providers to devise countermeasures for pirated products.
In November last year, the top-10 most visited foreign websites hosting pirated content aimed at Japanese users saw a record-high about 540 million page views over the month.
