Sendai Court Convicts Operators of Site Publishing Over 8,000 Movie Spoilers
A Japanese court has convicted four people linked to a website that posted 8,000-plus movie plot summaries with screenshots, in a copyright case under Japan's Copyright Law. The Sendai District Court sentenced a company executive to two years' imprisonment suspended for three years and a 1 million yen fine, while two writers received fines and the operating company was fined 1 million yen. The court found the defendants engaged in organized, profit-driven copyright infringement.
In May 2026, four Japanese individuals were referred to prosecutors for allegedly violating Japan's Copyright Law by publishing text summaries of movie plots with screenshots on their website. The site had published plot summary articles for more than 8,000 different films. In November 2023, the group published detailed written plot records of multiple works owned by companies including Toho, Toei, Kadokawa and Tsuburaya Productions, covering films such as Godzilla Minus One, Shin Kamen Rider and Shin Ultraman.
On August 3, 2026, the Sendai District Court delivered its ruling in the case. Company executive A was sentenced to two years' imprisonment with a three-year suspension and a fine of 1 million yen (approximately RMB 49,000); company employee B was sentenced to one year's imprisonment with a two-year suspension; writer C was fined 500,000 yen (approximately RMB 24,500); writer D was fined 300,000 yen (approximately RMB 14,700); and the operating company was fined 1 million yen (approximately RMB 49,000).
The court found that the defendants conspired to commit organized copyright infringement and operated the website in question for profit. The operating company itself was also referred to prosecutors and indicted for violating the Copyright Law, a circumstance that is relatively uncommon in similar cases.
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