Summary
- A Japanese YouTube user has been sentenced to two years in prison and fined ¥1 million for making money from copyrighted material, violating anti-piracy laws.
- The conviction sets a precedent globally, with potential ripple effects on how games and studios handle streamers and content creators in relation to copyright laws.
- Reactions to the verdict are mixed, with some supporting the protection of copyright holders' property rights, while others dispute claims that sales would be significantly impacted by content creators uploading spoilers or discussing anime and games.
According to reports, a Japanese YouTube user was tried and convicted for violating anti-piracy laws that prohibit making any sort of profit from copyrighted material. The YouTube user in question, 53-year-old Shinobu Yoshida, was accused and found guilty of making money off of content from visual novels and anime and was sentenced to two years in prison and fined ¥1 million, or just over $6,700.
The anti-piracy group known as the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) stated that the content that Yoshida uploaded contained spoilers and content from the Steins;Gate visual novel series, as well as episodic summaries of the anime Steins;Gate and Spy x Family. While some video game companies and production studios such as Nintendo have different bylaws and content programs such as the Nintendo Ambassador program, this differs from company to company. However, some companies ban the practice outright and use anti-piracy laws to take down videos as they see fit.
In a follow-up verdict from his arrest back in May for the YouTube uploads, Yoshida was sentenced to serve two years in prison and ordered to pay a ¥1 million fine, which is approximately $6,700. However, Yoshida willingly admitted that his Let's Play videos and other uploads were clear violations of Japanese law. During the trial, Yoshida said, "As part of my hobby, I wanted someone to see what I made." CODA condemned the uploads of copyrighted content and claimed that consumers would not be as incentivized to spend actual money on games and anime episodes if they were spoiled by uploads from content creators. CODA also accused Yoshida of "...unfairly gaining advertising revenue through copyright infringement."
Considering the fact that CODA is part of the International Anti-Piracy Organization, alongside the United States' Motion Picture Association (MPA), this unprecedented conviction will have a ripple effect. While some games and studios have modes to keep streamers and content creators out of trouble with the US' Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Yoshida's conviction is the first of its kind globally, and the effects of this precedent remain to be seen. On social media, reactions to this conviction have been mixed. While some users stated that the copyright holders were within their rights to protect their property, others disputed CODA's claims that sales would be significantly impacted by content creators uploading spoilers or having discussions about an anime or game.
Suffice it to say, Yoshida's conviction did not go unnoticed outside Japan. While YouTube itself is facing changes to ad distribution, it remains to be seen what the global impacts of this verdict will be.
Source: The Verge