Japan to mull making all downloaded pirate content illegal: reports
The National Diet of Japan (the country’s parliament) is to consider measures that would make all unauthorised downloads of copyright protected works illegal, according to local reports.
Japanese newspaper The Mainchi reported on Wednesday, February 13, that a government panel had adopted the new policy and submitted a report recommending the measures to Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs.
The new law would cover all works protected by copyright, including manga, computer games and literature. Currently, this policy only applies to unauthorised downloads of music and videos, The Japan Times said.
The report also called for liability for operators of so-called “leech sites” that hyperlink to websites hosting pirated material, according to The Mainchi.
Punishment for breaking the law could include up to two years in prison and a fine of ¥2 million ($18,106). However, this should only apply to those found guilty of serious offences, such as the reproduction of entire works and repeat illegal downloads, the panel reportedly said.
The agency is now set to submit a bill to parliament that would amend the Copyright Act and implement the recommendations.
The plans are the latest in a series of efforts to crack down on online copyright infringement in Japan. Last year, the popular pirating website Mangamura, which offered free downloads of copyright protected manga works, was shut down. The value of the infringement facilitated by the website was estimated at ¥300 billion ($2.7 billion), The Japan Times reported.
According to the newspaper, the government allowing internet service providers to block Mangamura was an unprecedented step in Japanese copyright enforcement, being the first case of its kind that did not relate to child pornogaphy websites.
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