After being arrested earlier this year, three people have been sentenced to suspended prison and fines for uploading so-called "fast movies" to YouTube. His trial, which took place in Japan, heard that the defendants uploaded minute-long movie summary edits on YouTube with comments attached. All three pleaded guilty to criminal violations of Japan's copyright law.
In the summer we reported about an unusual situation in Japan where copyright holders felt that the rise of so-called "fast movies" posed a threat to their business.
'Fast movies' are essentially heavily edited copies of feature films that tell the full story in just a few minutes. However, unlike most official trailers, they also typically include commentary, in addition to a host of spoilers. Available on dedicated YouTube channels, they became a huge hit, but in Japan, this is a risky business.
With no broad 'fair use' style exceptions to lean on in a crisis, channels generating millions of views were seen as a major threat to the movie business. In response, the rights holders promised to do something about it and soon after, three suspects were arrested on suspicion of uploading 'fast movies' to YouTube.
"Fast movies are a clear copyright infringement and a serious crime that goes beyond the scope of the legally permitted subpoena, however minor each act may seem," anti-piracy group CODA told TorrentFreak at the time.
"Fast movies that include spoilers would discourage viewers from watching the original movies and therefore have a serious adverse effect on rights holders."
First hearing: suspects go to trial
Earlier this month, the suspects, who have yet to be named, were tried in Japan. The investigation by the Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office found that the defendants had systematically uploaded local films in "fast movie" format to YouTube for monetary gain.
"The three defendants had been charged with violating the Copyright Act by publishing 'I am a hero' and two other copyrighted works of Toho Co., Ltd., as well as 'Cold Fish' and another Copyrighted work of Nikkatsu Co., Ltd., cutting the movies to 10 minutes without permission, adding narration and then uploading them to YouTube from June to July 2020, โCODA informs TorrentFreak.
All three pleaded guilty to the indictment charges with potentially serious consequences, including prison terms and immediate fines. The prosecution requested the following:
- Defendant A: 2 years in prison + 2,000,000 yen fine (US $ 17,472)
- Defendant B: 18 months in prison + 1,000,000 yen (US $ 8,736) fine
- Defendant C: 18 months in prison + fine of 500,000 yen (4,368 US dollars)
Citing the "attitude of remorse" of their clients, the defendants' attorneys argued that the suspended sentences would be appropriate in this case, not the immediate custodial sentences requested by the prosecution.
Second hearing: sentence
During the second hearing that took place this week at the Sendai District Court in Miyagi Prefecture, a sentence was handed down against the defendants. CODA says that due to past convictions and the existence of "a lot of solid evidence," the matter was relatively straightforward.
The lawyers' request for relative indulgence was taken into consideration and the judgments were as follows:
- Defendant A: 2 years in prison (suspended for 4 years) + 2,000,000 yen fine
- Defendant B: 18 months in prison (suspended for 3 years) + 1,000,000 yen fine
- Defendant C: 18 months in prison (suspended for 3 years) + 500,000 yen fine
CODA welcomes the decision
in a statement, CODA says it considers the trial to be fair and is confident that it will act as a deterrent message to others who are thinking of uploading 'fast movies' to platforms such as YouTube.
"It is never allowed to use works created by many creative talents who devoted their time, work and resources to their works without permission and get a huge amount of advertising revenue," says the anti-piracy group.
"CODA will continue to eliminate illegal use of Japanese content, including but not limited to 'fast movies' and to protect copyright."
Fines issued to defendants are payable to the state, so if right holders wish to recover damages themselves, a civil case will need to be filed.
