In January, American anime distributor Funimation took action against 1337 alleged BitTorrent users, suing them for sharing episode 481 of the anime show One Piece. Funimation requested that the defendants pay damages and destroy all the content they’ve downloaded using BitTorrent.

Since the inception of BitTorrent there have always been very active communities where anime torrents are shared, but Funimation felt it was time to draw a line and sue their users. In the past they have have also been very critical of fansubbing sites, where anime fans create and share their own subtitles that often complement pirated copies.

In the light of the above it is a bit hypocritical, to say the least, that recent footage from the Funimation dubbing room revealed how the company itself was using ‘pirated’ subtitles.

This oddity was picked up by a member of the Anime News Network (ANN) forum and the evidence comes from an episode of America’s Greatest Otaku.

Although the actual translation of the show comes from the producers, the styling of the subtitles is clearly that of Horriblesubs, a site that provides subtitles for ‘pirated’ shows. With the many variables involved it is nearly impossible that this styling would have been replicated by accident, so it’s safe to conclude that Funimation is using subs from a ‘pirate’ source in their dubbing room.

But does this mean that Funimation broke any laws? Not necessarily.

After a lengthy discussion in the forums ANN CEO Temptest – who’s very familiar with licensing agreements – joined the discussion with a good summary of the situation. There is no doubt that Funimation is using ‘pirated’ subtitles, but it seems unlikely that they failed to secure the appropriate rights.

As most licensing deals include the right to use subtitles, and since the translations were done by the original owner of the content, Funimation has all the rights to use the Horriblesubs copy. The only question is whether the font used by Horriblesubs was properly licensed by Funimation.

But of course this revelation isn’t so much about the letter of the law, but more about the hypocrisy of an Anime distributor that is so critical of BitTorrent and fansubbing yet is using ‘pirated’ subtitles. Apparently they find value in a product that wouldn’t exist without the very community they are so committed to cracking down on.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

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: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.