Animesuki target of legal action by Japanese anime studio

*teh s uck* · Dec 09, 2004, 04:25 AM

From AmineSuki:

Quote:

Removal of Media Factory Inc. Works

AnimeSuki is a website that aims to be a portal for finding all unlicensed English anime torrents. By limiting the content to only unlicensed anime, we had tried to avoid associating AnimeSuki with piracy, even though as stated on the Licensed Anime page, fansubs are technically a violation of copyright. By not listing licensed anime, AnimeSuki avoided getting into any legal trouble with US anime companies, simply because we don't list anything they hold the copyright of.

As also stated on the page mentioned above, up until now (or we must unfortunately say: up until recently) fansub groups and anyone involved in the publication of fansubs had little to worry from legal pressure from Japan (ie. from the anime studios - the original copyright holders). We believed that at best Japanese anime studios condoned our actions or at least ignored us as being not much of a threat to them (in terms of revenue, etc).

Unfortunately, it seems times have changed. On December 7, 2004 AnimeSuki received an email from a Tokyo law firm who represents the interests of Media Factory Inc. (a Japanese anime studio) requesting us to stop uploading "works" (anime series) of MFI to our website and/or stop "inducing" our visitors to websites where their "works" can be downloaded.

Needless to say, AnimeSuki has never offered direct downloads of any anime series, nor (with very few exceptions) had anything to do with facilitating the downloading of any of the anime series listed on the site. Also, considering the circumstances it's not entirely sure if, in case this issue ever goes to court, whether they would succeed as AnimeSuki is nothing more than a collection of links, which should not be illegal.

However, the legal notice was addressed at me (GHDpro, creator and webmaster of AnimeSuki) personally and I do not wish to get involved in any kind of legal trouble. Therefore I have decided to remove any links to any "works" (anime series) by Media Factory Inc. from the site immediately. I hope you can understand that I don't wish to become the target of any legal action that Media Factory Inc. might take if I fail to comply with their request, regardless of the level of success such legal action might actually have. I simply want avoid any legal trouble, period.

Affected anime series by Media Factory Inc.
The decision to no longer list any anime series (present and future) of Media Factory Inc. currently affects these series:

* Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (including Akane Maniax)
* Genshiken (including Kujibiki Unbalance)
* School Rumble
* Gankutsuou
* RahXephon (OVA only, TV + Movie is licensed already)
* UFO Princess Warukyure (any season)
* Pugyuru

A complete list of Media Factory Inc. anime series can be found here.

Will fansub groups stop fansubbing these series?
That is of course entirely up to them. However, it is not entirely impossible that due to these developments fansub groups decide it isn't worth the risk and may drop these series.

Licensed?
You may have noticed the affected series (mentioned above) are now marked as "licensed" in the database of AnimeSuki. Please note that this is only because this is the easiest way to get these series permanently off the site. It has no other purpose and meaning than that. The scripts of AnimeSuki will be modified to display a different message soon.

Is this a hoax?
Unfortunately it is not. The main reason for delaying the decision to remove the links was to verify the authenticity of the email. However, the only conclusion we could come to is that this is real. Apart from the email a real letter was also sent from Japan by international mail, futher confirming its authenticity.

The beginning of the end?
Maybe, maybe not. Depends on if any other Japanese anime studio decides to follow MFI's example. AnimeSuki will continue to list fansubs of anime series for which MFI does not hold the copyright, unless told to do otherwise. So unless AnimeSuki is made obsolete by virtually every anime studio taking the same action as MFI, we won't close down!

The only thing that's surprising to me is that it's taken this long for something like this to happen. Obviously, Media Factory has decided that the benefit of allowing fansubs is outweighed by the costs. I personally wonder if the fact that decent fansubs are so easily available on the Internet is starting to affect the amount that American distributors are willing to pay to Japanese studios for rights to distribute anime; after all, why would ADV, Viz, or a smaller distributor pay top dollar when much of their target audience can download the series for free?

*dave_akuma* · Dec 09, 2004, 01:37 PM

it would be teh suck if he was to get sued...i wonder if any other studios are gonna start threatening with legal action towards fansubs...

Kypt · Dec 09, 2004, 01:39 PM

Well...Anime suki did stop distribution of licensed anime regardless if it was close to finish or not. That alone made finding some anime a bit harder for some people. For example, I know lots of people that gave up on FMA because they didn't find many places and just waited for it to get to the USA. I honestly thought if every anime torrent site would be targeted, animesuki would be the onlyone standing tall since, in my opinion, its the most harmless of them all. Oh well...hope it is not really "the beggining of the end".

*AUanimefan* · Dec 09, 2004, 01:46 PM

i hope its not the beginning of the end because there are ppl that i knw with my self included that use the torrents to see whehter an anime will be any good. In all cases i have gone on to buy the series anyway.

Semaru · Dec 09, 2004, 01:58 PM

There's a pretty interesting thread about this over on the animemusicvideos.org forums too: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/phpB...ic.php?t=43453

If the studio wants to stop having its stuff fansubbed, I don't like it, but I'll support it because I respect the rights of the artists and animators.

No one likes to put in tons of work on something and then feel like hordes of people are ripping it off of them for free. I just wish the studio realised that most people do buy the domestic version of the stuff they liked fansubbed.

Its sad.

*syn~a~mon* · Dec 09, 2004, 04:48 PM

The party had to end sometime. This type of thing was inevitable. Media Factory is well within their rights to pursue this course of action and I fully respect that. I am wondering how much of an impact fansubs and raws, being so readily available on the internet, have made on the Japanese market. Have sales of dvds over there declined any? On a similar note, how much of an impact have fansubs really made on things getting licensed over here? I do hear people argue about how if it wasn't for fansubs, there wouldn't be as much interest generated in a particular series. I mean, do you think companies like Geneon and ADV have people lurking at various forums to see what new shows we are all talking about? Just a few things I've been wondering.

I'm gonna miss seeing School Rumble and Genshiken, but hopefully they'll get licensed over here in the near future.

*jaderabbit* · Dec 11, 2004, 03:03 PM

man i sure hope they don't get sued for it. It's a great place even on my fav's bookmarks too. Didn't som'n like that happen to boxtorrents Man im sure glad box is still there. well i hope everything turns out for the best.

*nova* · Dec 11, 2004, 09:39 PM

I think media factory is just following the MPAA's supposed crackdown on movie filesharing, which kept coming up in the press last month.

It's a fact: illegal filesharing is here to stay.

If it wasn't ftp, it was napster, or kazaa, if not bittorrent, irc, and then there's newsgroups...there will always be a smart kid or two out there one step ahead. this has been going before the internet was born.

what's the solution? they should work with fansubs. if it's not in english, they only have a short percentage they are actually losing. fansubs do these studios a lot of good in bringing in a core audience, and most end up buying the licensed stuff anyhow.

ultimately the studios make more money here in DVDs and merchandising. plus you can't make bootleg figures unless you try too hard. and i wish they would get smarter with the merchandising. more official and original pieces, please. i'm tired of collecting action figures, ost's and artbooks. give me more props(like the anita chan milk jug from r.o.d. tv) considering that american dollars isn't worth much today, i truly don't see why they really care. :Thumbd:

if they'd only realize that most series don't peak until they have dub tracks, and they are still in a slight safe haven until a fan sub turns into a fan dub.

Dec 09, 2004, 01:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
dave_akuma AO Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Alhambra, California Posts: 186 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	it would be teh suck if he was to get sued...i wonder if any other studios are gonna start threatening with legal action towards fansubs... __________________
Status: Offline

Dec 09, 2004, 01:39 PM	#3 (permalink)
Kypt Newbie Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 14 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Well...Anime suki did stop distribution of licensed anime regardless if it was close to finish or not. That alone made finding some anime a bit harder for some people. For example, I know lots of people that gave up on FMA because they didn't find many places and just waited for it to get to the USA. I honestly thought if every anime torrent site would be targeted, animesuki would be the onlyone standing tall since, in my opinion, its the most harmless of them all. Oh well...hope it is not really "the beggining of the end".
Status: Offline

Dec 09, 2004, 01:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
AUanimefan Newbie Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Ashland, Ohio Posts: 77 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	i hope its not the beginning of the end because there are ppl that i knw with my self included that use the torrents to see whehter an anime will be any good. In all cases i have gone on to buy the series anyway. __________________ thanx for the sig KayJayFromAust
Status: Offline

Dec 09, 2004, 01:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
Semaru Newbie Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	There's a pretty interesting thread about this over on the animemusicvideos.org forums too: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/phpB...ic.php?t=43453 If the studio wants to stop having its stuff fansubbed, I don't like it, but I'll support it because I respect the rights of the artists and animators. No one likes to put in tons of work on something and then feel like hordes of people are ripping it off of them for free. I just wish the studio realised that most people do buy the domestic version of the stuff they liked fansubbed. Its sad.
Status: Offline

Dec 09, 2004, 04:48 PM	#6 (permalink)
syn~a~mon Newbie Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 63 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	The party had to end sometime. This type of thing was inevitable. Media Factory is well within their rights to pursue this course of action and I fully respect that. I am wondering how much of an impact fansubs and raws, being so readily available on the internet, have made on the Japanese market. Have sales of dvds over there declined any? On a similar note, how much of an impact have fansubs really made on things getting licensed over here? I do hear people argue about how if it wasn't for fansubs, there wouldn't be as much interest generated in a particular series. I mean, do you think companies like Geneon and ADV have people lurking at various forums to see what new shows we are all talking about? Just a few things I've been wondering. I'm gonna miss seeing School Rumble and Genshiken, but hopefully they'll get licensed over here in the near future.
Status: Offline

Welcome to AnimeOnline.net, your personal Anime Community!	Anime Online Rulez!

Dec 11, 2004, 03:03 PM	#7 (permalink)
jaderabbit Cheetos Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The World Posts: 3,674 Thanks: 1 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts	man i sure hope they don't get sued for it. It's a great place even on my fav's bookmarks too. Didn't som'n like that happen to boxtorrents Man im sure glad box is still there. well i hope everything turns out for the best.
Status: Offline

Dec 11, 2004, 09:39 PM	#8 (permalink)
nova barefoot hotcake Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 234 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I think media factory is just following the MPAA's supposed crackdown on movie filesharing, which kept coming up in the press last month. It's a fact: illegal filesharing is here to stay. If it wasn't ftp, it was napster, or kazaa, if not bittorrent, irc, and then there's newsgroups...there will always be a smart kid or two out there one step ahead. this has been going before the internet was born. what's the solution? they should work with fansubs. if it's not in english, they only have a short percentage they are actually losing. fansubs do these studios a lot of good in bringing in a core audience, and most end up buying the licensed stuff anyhow. ultimately the studios make more money here in DVDs and merchandising. plus you can't make bootleg figures unless you try too hard. and i wish they would get smarter with the merchandising. more official and original pieces, please. i'm tired of collecting action figures, ost's and artbooks. give me more props(like the anita chan milk jug from r.o.d. tv) considering that american dollars isn't worth much today, i truly don't see why they really care. :Thumbd: if they'd only realize that most series don't peak until they have dub tracks, and they are still in a slight safe haven until a fan sub turns into a fan dub. __________________
Status: Offline

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