Four defendants and the operating company were found guilty at a second trial held at the Sendai District Court on August 3, 2026. The defendants had been referred to the Sendai District Public Prosecutors Office in May, 2025, on suspicion of copyright infringement, and were subsequently indicted.
They had transcribed the entire storylines of copyrighted films in detail without authorization from the rights holders and published the transcriptions together with related images on a website operated by the company.
At the first trial held on July 24, the defendants admitted the charges. Through the investigation and court proceedings, it was also revealed that the defendants had conspired to commit copyright infringement in an organized manner and operated the website for commercial purposes.
The court handed down the following sentences:
- Company Executive A: Two years’ imprisonment, suspended for three years, and a fine of JPY 1 million (equivalent to about US$6,350)
- Employee B: One year’s imprisonment, suspended for two years
- Writer C: Fine of JPY 500,000 (~US$3,175)
- Writer D: Fine of JPY 300,000 (~US$1,900)
- Operating Company: Fine of JPY 1 million
Additional offender
In addition, on April 16, 2026, a man who operated another website of the same nature and was arrested and indicted on suspicion of copyright infringement was sentenced to one year and six months’ imprisonment, suspended for four years, and a fine of JPY 1 million. Furthermore, on July 16, 2025, a male writer who created articles published on that website was also found guilty and sentenced to a fine of JPY 500,000.
Why it matters
It is an extremely rare case in which a corporation was also referred to prosecutors and indicted for copyright infringement. The Copyright Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) of Japan assisted the investigation by coordinating with the affected rights holders and providing other support.
The online availability of detailed text covering the entire storyline of movies, from beginning to end, and making such content publicly available enables users to understand almost the entire content of a work without watching it.
Such acts discourage the use of legitimate services and reduce consumers’ willingness to pay appropriate compensation for content, thereby causing serious harm to the content industry. These acts constitute clear copyright infringement that exceeds the scope of lawful quotation.
Further reading
Five people and a company referred to prosecutors for copyright infringement by posting full movie summaries online without authorization. Press release. August 3, 2026. Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), Japan
Japan: Defendants referred for producing and posting movie summaries online without permission. Article May 22, 2025. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
