An impressive first has happened in Japanese copyright law: the arrest of three spoiler and transcription site operators, thanks to the cooperation of Kadokawa Corporation, Toho Co., Ltd., and Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA). The arrest was announced byKadokawa Groupand CODA’s press release. The offending group in question was investigated following the upload of major spoilers forOVERLORDseason 3, the rights held by Kadokawa.This arrest was the first of its kind and a telling development of Japanese copyright law enforcement.
As confirmed in the press release, theOVERLORDcontent uploaded included transcriptions of “detailed content of the entire story” and characters, dialogue, and scene developments while reaping the advertising revenue. Thanks to the cooperation of Miyagi Prefectural Police and Tome Police Station,these men were arrested after confirming they conspired, despite the violation of copyright law, to generate a profit. All in the interest of protecting the dissemination of culture, this signals how serious this offense is according to the Copyright Act and how effectively CODA coordinated these measures.
Kadokawa and CODA Arrest Transcription Site Members Posting Major Spoilers for Profit
Major Anime and Film Properties Spoiled Illegally
Alongsidebeloved isekai animeOVERLORD,Godzilla Minus One(Godzilla 1.0in Japan) was also affected, with the whole stories of these properties posted by the concerned website, henceforth labeled Site A. As theCODArelease states,Site A generated high traffic and, therefore, high ad revenue while posting content that infringes on the Copyright Actby posting it without permission from the rights holders. While digitally edited to obscure the content, they showed heavily copyrighted material, with their posted example bearing theGodzilla Minus Onetitle card.
Incredible Isekai Puts The Best Twist On The Evil Overlord Trope The Genre Has Seen In Years
This great isekai series shows an evil overlord’s quest to rule with fear and domination despite his good personality.
As stated, CODA’s help in coordinating these arrests is directly in favor of preventing losses by the creators and copyright holders.Posting spoilers of this magnitude directly affects people’s intent to consume the product, especially if the spoilers either ruin the experience of seeing it in person or effectively nullify curiosity about the release. It’s done in favor of the publishers and creators of the original work. This action is unsurprising, with publishers as big as Kadokawa and Toho among those affected, two immensely storied Japanese companies.
Why Kadokawa & CODA Are Taking This Spoiler Site So Seriously
It’s About Making an Example
Aside from cooperating with police, which resulted in identifying and arresting the offending individuals,Kadokawa and CODA’s action represents the interest of protecting copyright law and ultimately preventing revenue loss on a Japanese cultural export. With major anime properties and a significantly acclaimed entry ofone of history’s most beloved film franchisesaffected, Kadokawa and Toho are prepared to make an example of offenders. CODA’s statement concerning this development makes a fair deal of sense about how spoilers of this magnitude on properties likeOVERLORDandGodzillaare harmful.
The problem with sites that extract text from movies and other content is that they reduce people’s desire to pay a fair price for content, which can lead to people not seeing the official full-length movies, causing great damage to rights holders. In addition, the act of infringing on content that creators have spent time, effort, and money to create and unfairly obtaining advertising revenue is extremely malicious and should never be tolerated.
-CODA
Kadokawa issued a similar statement touching upon this point as well:
The transcription and publication of video works beyond the scope of legal quotation, as in this case, cannot be overlooked as it hinders the appropriate return of compensation to creators associated with the consumption and use of the official version and leads to a worsening of the environment for future creative works. We will continue to protect the enjoyment that users enjoy from content and the economic interests of rights holders, including creators, from those who engage in fraudulent acts, while maintaining and strengthening the environment for creating internationally acclaimed Japanese content and its competitiveness as an industry, and making a sustainable contribution to the dissemination and development of culture.
-Kadokawa
These statements communicate the intent to protect these properties asthey affect the compensation of the creators and the immediate incentive to publish future creative works. Given the saturated market and competition in the anime and film environments, illegally spoiling entire stories' content has alerted these agencies to future offenses. ForOVERLORDandGodzillafans or those wishing to experience more content related to these properties, these actions are reportedly in the interest of sustainably creating more content like that in the future.
Overlord
Cast
Overlord follows a salaryman who, after being trapped in a virtual reality game, assumes the role of an all-powerful skeletal overlord. As he navigates this new world filled with magic and mythical creatures, he seeks to understand the game’s mysteries and conquer its challenges. The series blends elements of fantasy and adventure, exploring themes of power and identity.
