Japanese comics publisher wants info on alleged infringer from ISPs

Shueisha Inc., a Japanese publisher of comic books, has filed an application in Federal Court to compel two Canadian internet service providers to fork over the personal information of subscribers they allege have infringed on their copyright. The accused allegedly runs websites called Mangastream under addresses including mangastream.com and readms.net, which feature translated reproductions of Shueisha’s work, according to the July 29 court complaint. The Tokyo-based company has rights to magazines, books and some of the world’s most popular comics, or “manga,” including Dragon Ball. The application asks the court to require Shaw Communications Inc. and Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink to hand over the name, mailing address, email, financial information, date of birth, telephone number and IP address of the accused infringer, who allegedly ran the websites. The lawsuit stems from an action taken not in Canada, but in the United States. Shueisha discovered that Mangastream was using Cloudflare Inc., a web hosting company, to deliver its websites, according to court records. Shueisha obtained and served on Cloudflare a subpoena to produce information on the operator of the sites. The information showed that the accused -- who is not identified in the application but is given the name “Chuck Doe” -- logged into his Cloudflare account on several IP addresses, with three linked to Shaw and two to Eastlink. The Japanese giant now seeks to identify the individuals or organization behind the sites. The case represents the latest disclosure request since the Supreme Court of Canada ruled last September that ISPs can charge a “reasonable” fee for fulfilling disclosure requests -- which often require extra care with verifying the person allegedly involved. The ruling also doesn’t seem to faze the Japanese company. In its complaint, it said that it will pay to the ISPs “reasonable out-of-pocket expenses required to comply with the Norwich Order.” That willingness came before a Federal Court judge ruled earlier this month that Rogers Communications Inc. -- whose battle over disclosure costs led to the SCC decision -- could charge $35 per hour to get the relevant info for rightsholders. To get to that decision, the judge used references to what others charge for completing their disclosure orders. Shaw charges a rate of $250 per hour, according to a chart in that decision. Rogers initially requested and received a court blessing two years ago that allowed it to charge $100 per hour for completing a Norwich order, but a Federal Court of Appeal judge, in overturning the decision, said the ISP could not charge because Parliament had not set a fee ceiling for that. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin lawyer Jay Kerr-Wilson told this publication following the Federal Court’s decision earlier this month that the judge in the case effectively established the methodology used to determine costs -- which was to strip out charges, such as overhead costs, that are unrelated to the actual performance of the work in question. Shueisha’s application also demonstrates that some parties will not be deterred when trying to bring alleged infringers to justice. When the SCC determined that ISPs can charge fees to complete these types of requests, some said it would impose another roadblock to disclosure that prospective plaintiffs may not think is worth fighting for. The argument hinged on the fact that Canada has a relatively low ceiling for non-commercial infringement, at $5,000, while commercial infringement is capped at $20,000. There have now been at least 19 disclosure cases in front of the Federal Court, dating back to 2016. All but this comic book case have involved movies. — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Japanese comics publisher wants info on alleged infringer from ISPs

Broadcast | August 20, 2019

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Japanese comics publisher wants info on alleged infringer from ISPs

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