Three people in Japan were arrested for allegedly violating the country’s intellectual property laws by uploading “quick movies” to YouTube. These are short, edited versions of copyrighted films. Wednesday’s arrests mark the first time anyone has been caught in Japan for posting quick movies online, according to The Japan Times.
These “quick movies” include clips and still images that summarize a film in a short format, edited without permission from copyright holders like film distributors. The summaries usually run 10 minutes or less, The Japan Times reported, and they explain the entire plot from start to finish for viewers who don’t have time or don’t want to watch the full movie.
According to The Japan Times, two of the three arrested are 25 and 42 years old. Police said the video creators earned advertising revenue based on views.
Google, YouTube’s parent company, has not commented on the arrests.
Copyright laws are complex and vary by country, as do definitions of fair use. Japan’s government agency responsible for cultural affairs said the country’s copyright law “is strictly regulated to avoid excessive harm to copyright holders’ interests and does not prevent normal use of copyrighted works.”
Miyagi Prefectural Police discovered these quick movies during a web crackdown in July 2020, according to The Japan Times. To identify the three suspects, police worked with the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), a Tokyo-based group that helps copyright owners and related organizations fight copyright violations worldwide and promotes international distribution of Japanese content like music, films, anime, TV shows, and video games.
As of June 14, 2021, CODA reported that 55 accounts had uploaded 2,100 illegal quick movies to YouTube, totaling 477 million views, according to The Japan Times. CODA estimates the copyright owners’ losses from these videos at about 96 billion yen, nearly 20 trillion VND.
Below is a Japanese news clip about the arrests. One commenter said, “I watched a quick movie yesterday.” They added, “I’m embarrassed to say I don’t want to watch the full movie anymore.” Another replied, “After watching a quick movie, don’t people lose interest in seeing the full film?”
Do you often watch movie summaries like these?
Source: CNET
