Shueisha Seeks Assistance from Google, PayPal, and VISA to identify Pirates

Japanese publishing giant Shueisha is on a mission to identify and take legal action against anonymous operators of pirate sites distributing its manga illegally. Tracing and locating these operators globally is a complex, lengthy process, often taking years to resolve.

Shueisha Seeks Assistance from Google, PayPal, and VISA to identify Pirates

To conduct these investigations, Shueisha frequently turns to U.S. courts, leveraging the legal framework there to gather information from American companies that these operators rely on, such as Google, PayPal, and VISA.

Recently, Shueisha filed an application in a California court, seeking authorization under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 to gather data that will enable them to pursue lawsuits in Japan for damages.

In April 2024, Shueisha’s attorneys identified numerous pirate sites providing illegal download links for its content. Many of these sites used Cloudflare’s services, an American company that was compelled to disclose information on the site operators through a subpoena. The list of domains includes sites like mangakoma01.net, mangarawjp.asia, and spoilerplus.net, each drawing millions of visits monthly.

Cloudflare provided key information, including email addresses, PayPal accounts, and VISA card numbers used for payments. Additionally, four Google AdSense accounts were found linked to the pirate sites, providing more leads on the operators.

Shueisha is prepared to file lawsuits in Japan under Article 709 of the Japanese Civil Code against these anonymous operators. The company also intends to pursue further claims for copyright and unfair competition violations.

To proceed, Shueisha has requested permission from the U.S. court to obtain identifying information, such as names, addresses, and IP logs stored by Google, PayPal, and VISA.

This data collection is restricted to essential information needed to identify the infringers, with Shueisha considering the scope of the request minimal and non-intrusive. This ongoing effort underscores the publisher’s dedication to defending its copyrights against global piracy.

via: Voce Sabia Anime