Japan’s manga protection could misfire, lawyers say
Plans by the Japanese government to step up protection for manga comics and target online infringers could lead to a “cat and mouse” scenario and an increase in copycat websites, lawyers say.
Starting from next week, the government will send takedown-style notices to more than 500 suspected infringers who have uploaded manga strips online without permission from right holders.
It will also launch a website that leads internet users to official versions of the violated works.
But Kensaku Takase, partner in the Tokyo office of Baker & McKenzie LLP, noted that due to the infringers being “largely based” in China that would mean taking “legal and administrative action” outside Japan.
“Due to the nature of the services involved, being internet based, they are easily transferred or mirrored, and this could lead to a cat and mouse scenario,” Takase said.
“Not allowing consumers a legitimate alternative will simply create demand for similar infringing sites to setup, although the ‘official site’ will hopefully be a sufficient alternative for consumers,” he added.
The campaign, due to start on Friday (August 1), will see the government team up with 15 businesses, including anime production companies and publishers.
Takase added: “Potential problems with this strategy include the sheer number of infringers that are being targeted. Perhaps there is not a single ‘king pin’ who is being focused on and this may make the campaign too broad and waste valuable resources”.
Despite this, Takase added that the government’s involvement “added weight” to the campaign and could act as a form of lobbying the Chinese government.
Earlier this week, WIPR reported that manga, a style of comic book first developed in the late 19th century and popular in Japanese culture, had been targeted by illegal uploads online.
It is traditionally published in a weekly serial format in magazines but has recently branched out into films and TV shows.
Satoko Kubo, patent attorney, trademarks and design, at Shiga International Patent Office, in Tokyo, said there had been a growth of comic books appearing online.
“Since Japan’s copyright revenue is in the red, the government plans to strengthen copyright protection for Japanese content abroad in addition to promoting them,” she said.
According to the Japan Book Publishers Association, comic book sales in North America, where manga is especially popular, dropped by ¥150 billion ($1.5 billion) to ¥300 billion ($2.9 billion) between 2007 and 2011 because of illegal releases online.
