Nov 01 (Japan Times) - Police arrested nine people on suspicion of copyright law violations Tuesday in connection with a website containing links to other sites that give visitors access to pirated comics and books.
The nine, including men in their early 20s, are suspected of uploading pirated comics to a website without consent from the copyright holder and linking the materials to the site they operated in August last year.
The website did not host any pirated publications but the police believe it reduced profits for authors as it enabled visitors to read pirated works for free. The annual loss for the publishing industry was estimated at around ¥73 billion ($643 million).
The Haruka Yume no Ato website contained links to other sites hosting pirated popular comics such as "Dragon Ball" and "One Piece." Launched in 2011, it once boasted around 30 million visitors per month but has been shut down.
One of the nine suspects, Makoto Wauke, 22, said before his arrest, "I didn't intend to make money." The former graduate student denied uploading pirated copies, saying, "I had been operating the website trying to avoid copyright infringement."
Wauke and another suspect, 23-year-old Takaaki Nariai, both from Osaka, are believed to have been senior members of the group operating the website.
In cooperation with other suspects in different prefectures, the two allegedly instructed those who uploaded the pirated works.
There are at least 50 similar websites with links to pirated Japanese-language publications. Those who upload the pirated works are believed to receive payments depending on traffic volume, while link sites raise money through online advertising and membership fees.
Source: ANNnewsCH
