A U.S. court docket has ordered the disclosure of consumer data of accounts who’ve been leaking anime episodes illegally earlier than their official launch, notably that of Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen.
The ruling, issued on Aug 20, 2024, marks the primary time a U.S. court docket has made such an order involving Japanese anime.
The court docket’s order follows a petition filed by Aniplex Inc. and Toho Co., Ltd., each members of CODA, in June 2024 looking for data on the leak accounts. The businesses maintain the copyrights to the respective anime sequence.
CODA performed a key position in gathering proof and supporting the disclosure request.
In response to CODA, the leaks, which featured unreleased video content material and nonetheless pictures from Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen, had been posted by a number of accounts on X (previously Twitter) and gained important traction and enormous view counts.
In response to studies, a complete of 12 accounts on X, that had been posting movies and pictures previous to the anime’s launch, have been focused by this court docket order.
These accounts had been concerned in such actions since final yr, however had no authorized entry to the fabric and posted it with out authorization from the rights holders.
CODA has additionally reported receiving complaints of comparable pre-release leaks involving different anime titles and is working with copyright holders to collect additional data.
CODA and the affected corporations plan to make use of the disclosed data to determine the house owners of the accounts and pursue strict authorized motion. They goal to hunt heavy penalties in opposition to these accountable for distributing unauthorized content material and to discourage future leaks.
Supply: CODA, Yomiuri Shimbun
