While the music and movie industry often make outrageous claims about the disastrous effect of piracy on their respective industries, researchers are still divided. Some researchers claim a considerable loss due to unauthorized sharing, while others have found that the overall effect of piracy is a positive one.

RIETI’s study on the effects of piracy on the sales of anime DVDs in Japan falls in the latter category.

In their paper the researchers examine the effects of YouTube and the popular P2P-network Winny on DVD sales and rentals of Japanese anime episodes.

“Estimated equations of 105 anime episodes show that (1) YouTube viewing does not negatively affect DVD rentals, and it appears to help raise DVD sales; and (2) although Winny file sharing negatively affects DVD rentals, it does not affect DVD sales,” the researchers conclude.

“YouTube’s effect of boosting DVD sales can be seen after the TV’s broadcasting of the series has concluded, which suggests that not just a few people learned about the program via a YouTube viewing. In other words YouTube can be interpreted as a promotion tool for DVD sales,” it adds.

The results of the Japanese research confirm that piracy does not always have to be associated with a decrease in sales. Similar effects have been observed for music piracy and book piracy as well.

One point of critique based on the main conclusions of the study, is that the observed relation only appears to be correlational. This may mean that the results could in part be influenced by significant third variables such as promotion and overall popularity. Since the report is only available in Japanese we were unable to confirm whether this was taken into account.

The results of the study come at an interesting time. For years anime distributors where considered quite lenient towards piracy, but last week the American anime distributor Funimation announced lawsuits against 1337 alleged BitTorrent downloaders.

Although it’s not expected that one study will change the tune of the copyright holders who are currently pursing alleged pirated in court, the study does confirm that the availability of unauthorized streams and downloads do not necessarily harm sales. Quite the opposite. The challenge for the content producers is to find the sweet spot that will benefit them, and consumers.

Source: Internet Piracy Boosts Anime Sales, Study Concludes

In an attempt to stop the illicit distribution of the series, the American anime distributor Funimation was ordered by Fractale’s production company to stop the online broadcast of the series on Hulu. The producers wanted Funimation to get rid of all pirated copies online before the broadcast could continue.

An interesting take on how piracy should be dealt with, and arguably one of the worst things a company can do to stop illicit copies from appearing online. Since the broadcast ban was limited to the US but not Europe, it only created an increased demand for pirated copies, while it did little to stop illegal copies from showing up online.

If there’s one thing that TV-distributors should have learned from stpiracy over the years, it would be that making content unavailable to a certain region actually drives the demand for pirated copies.

Just before the second episode of Fractale was due to be released this week, the show’s producers finally gave the green light for the online broadcast to go ahead in the US. They probably realized their mistake, because pirated copies where still easy to find. Both Fractale episodes are now available to US viewers on Hulu, and the storm appeared to be over.

However, after being involved in this Fractale anti-piracy failure last week, Funimation made headlines in the anime community again yesterday, as the company announced lawsuits against 1337 BitTorrent users. Although the number of defendants reveals some sense of humor, the lawsuits are a serious business.

Funimation has sued the 1337 alleged BitTorrent users for downloading episode 481 of One Piece, and is probably looking to settle with the defendants as soon as they are named. The company is represented by lawyer Evan Stone who also filed suits for various adult entertainment companies last year.

In possibly another inside joke aside from picking 1337 defendants, One Piece is a show about “Straw Hat Luffy” and his crew named the Straw Hat Pirates.

The complaint specifically mentions the BitTorrent sites isohunt.com, kickasstorrents.com and nyaatorrents.org as potentially playing a role in the sharing process. Funimation is requesting that the defendants pay damages and destroy all the works they’ve downloaded using BitTorrent.

The above actions are quite unique in the anime community where, more than in most other entertainment industries, most publishers have been quite lenient towards file-sharers. Aside from the negative PR and the potential settlements that will result from the lawsuit, it is however doubtful that it will do much to stop shows from being shared.

Source: Anime Distributor Launches Piracy Assault, Sues 1337 BitTorrent Users

Odex used a tracking system to collect IP address of alleged sharers and then in court cases, successfully forced the ISPs StarHub and Singnet to give up the identities of their customers involved in the sweep. Next up, they tried to force another ISP, PacNet to give up the same. However, PacNet refused, so Odex went to court to try to force them to comply. To the dismay of Odex, the court decided that Odex had ‘no right of civil action’ against those it accused of infringing its copyrights, as Odex is only a sub-licensee of the anime titles it distributes, not the copyright holder.

In a very short-lived victory for file-sharers on Tuesday, the High Court dismissed attempts to force PacNet to give up its customers details to Odex. The judge, Justice Woo Bih Li, decided that as Odex had no right in this case to take copyright action, it could not be allowed to see the personal details of PacNet’s customers either.

However, in 2007, Odex added the names of the real six Japanese copyright holders to its case (GDH, Kadokawa Pictures, Showgate, Sunrise, TV Tokyo MediaNet and Yomiuri Telecasting) which, it turns out, was a smart move. Although Justice Woo Bih Li denied Odex a chance to see the records, the real copyright holders are in a position to sue – so he granted them full access to the records instead.

A spokesperson for PacNet said: “Pacnet is glad that the court has ruled in favour of us and has dismissed Odex’s appeal with costs. We will abide by [the] ruling and provide these copyright owners with the details of about 500 IP addresses.”

By some estimates, Odex could’ve made as much as $9m if everyone they accused paid up so they are understandably pleased at the result of the case. A spokesman said: “This ruling in favor of the Japanese copyright owners is a significant boost for us and our principals, as we have always acted for and on behalf of the copyright owners. We are very pleased that Pacnet will now be required to hand over information on the infringing accounts to our copyright owners.”

It’s likely that this decision will encourage Odex to continue with their tactics against file-sharers, tactics which have already resulted in death threats for its boss, Stephen Sing and his family, after being dubbed ‘the most hated man in Singapore’s anime community’.

Source: ISP Ordered to Reveal Identities of BitTorrent Anime Sharers