Last week, Asahi (via The Verge) reported that the Tokyo District Court sentenced Wataru Takeuchi to one and a half years in prison, as well as a fine of 1 million yen (about $6,300) for violating Japan’s copyright laws. Takeuchi was the administrator of an entertainment site littered with articles (and, perhaps most importantly, monetized advertising displays, from which Takeuchi earned approximately a quarter million dollars in 2023) that went into great detail and spoiler-filled description to summarize the plots of popular shows and movies.
It’s common in entertainment journalism and criticism to write about spoiler-filled content and discuss it online – even including the website you’re reading this on now – especially in an age where the attention economy of digital media more broadly is much worse. But much of that writing broadly falls under fair use, and in some cases, it may even be subject to certain terms of the studios that grant access to their work, such as release restrictions or “do not disclose” terms. Of course, there are also varying degrees of how different outlets handle discussion of what is deemed “spoiler”, so much so that it can mean different things to different people – but this is often a matter of etiquette rather than a legal issue.
However, what makes Takeuchi’s case clear is that his site’s work went far beyond a fair use case, writing out dialogue and describing scenes in such detail, and without any comment, that it ultimately led to two of those articles – one about godzilla minus one And the second one about the anime adaptation overlord-This prompted the respective rights owners Toho and Kadakova Shoten to file a joint lawsuit against them through the Content Overseas Distribution Association of Japan.
According to a translated statement by CODA about the case, Takeuchi was first arrested in 2024 due to concerns about his site’s posts, ultimately arguing that the site’s content went beyond normal fair use protections to the extent that it was tantamount to creating adaptations of original works without the permission of rights holders, and that they could be considered harmful by being so detailed that readers would not seek out movies and shows written in this manner on the website.
“A number of websites that extract text from films and other content have been identified and are considered problematic as so-called ‘spoiler sites,'” CODA’s statement reads in part. “Although these actions are considered less serious than illegal uploads to piracy sites or the uploading of content itself, they are clear copyright violations that go beyond the scope of fair use and are serious crimes.”
Takeuchi was ultimately accused of breaking laws surrounding the creation of “a new work by making creative modifications to the original while preserving its essential characteristics”. CODA further said that in light of the case, it planned to “implement effective measures against similar websites”, although no further details were given. But maybe it’s a good reminder to be careful with what and how you post online when it comes to your favorite movies and shows.
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