Japanese youtuber arrested for uploading Let's Play video of visual novel gameplay
www3.nhk.or.jp/tohoku-news/20230518/600002347...
www3.nhk.or.jpPosted May 18, 2023, 8:58 AM UTC
3364
www3.nhk.or.jpTranslation:
Nation's First Arrest for Distribution of "Gameplay Videos" Violation of Copyright Law
Police have arrested a 52-year-old YouTuber from Nagoya, Japan, on suspicion of violating the Copyright Law for distributing "gameplay videos," which are videos of people playing games, online without obtaining permission from the company that owns the copyright.
According to the police, this is the first time in Japan that anyone has been arrested for violating copyright law over a gameplay video.
The arrested suspect is Shinobu Yoshida, 52, a self-proclaimed YouTuber from Chikusa-ku, Nagoya City.
According to the police, Yoshida is accused of violating the copyright law between June and July last year by publishing three videos, including a "gameplay video," showing him playing the adventure game "STEINS;GATE :My Darling's Embrace" copyrighted by a Tokyo-based company on YouTube without obtaining permission.
The suspect, Yoshida told the police that "I posted the videos knowing that they were illegal," and has admitted to the charges.
In addition to this video, Yoshida distributed several "spoiler videos" that revealed the endings of anime, etc., and the total number of views of his videos has reached approximately 5.5 million.
The CODA (Contents Distribution and Promotion Agency, Japan), an organization formed by game and animation companies, commented, "Recently, game playing videos have been gaining popularity, but there are malicious postings that do not follow the guidelines and publish the synopsis and ending of the game without permission. We hope that this incident will serve as an opportunity to prevent the unauthorized use of content.
My take: it seems fair to ask fans not to leak the synopsis and ending of a visual novel game since the bulk of the enjoyment lies in unfolding the story yourself.
13
"I posted the videos knowing they were illegal" well there you go, open and shut. Lol
7
Japanese police are fairly notorious for the use of 'enhanced interrogation' to get confessions out of suspects.
21
[deleted]
3
I always thought it was kind of weird how Japan has a conviction rate of 99.9%
3
Well, let's just say there's a lot of behind the scenes shennanigans for that. First off the police here can hold you for almost a whole damn month without formally pressing charges if they're motivated enough to.
During that time they try all kinds of bullshit to coax/force/trick a confession out of you. If they get it then boom you have your open and shut case, easy tick to add to the tally. If not, they can say fuck it and let you go and it won't count against them on that record they hold in such esteem.
And unless they think they have a slam dunk of a case with the evidence they have they usually will let you go then if you manage to hold out, because again they don't want to risk any case that'll hurt their record
5
The oft cited number is "99%" (I checked, and I see 99 and 99.3%, while the one you cited seems to be a recent claim), not "99.9%" as you stated. The number, however, is a total myth. That number is not calculated the same way as one would typically calculate it. It's misleading, since Japanese prosecutors drop a much larger percentage of their cases than other countries.
Japan’s often-cited conviction rate of over 99 percent is a percentage of all prosecuted cases, not just contested cases. It is eye-catching, but misleading, since it counts as convictions those cases in which defendants pleaded guilty. If the U.S. conviction rate were calculated in a similar manner it would also exceed 99 percent since so few cases are contested at trial (in FY 2018 only 320 of the total number of 79,704 federal defendants were acquitted at trial).
The "99%" conviction rate is a case a Chinese whispers, largely due to comments like yours that uncritically parrot it, and misquote it, again and again, while cherry-picking stories like these to give the myth credence. You could easily do this with any country. Make up a BS statistic and post some negative news, but for some reason people are particularly keen to swallow bullshit when it comes to Japan.
I really don't understand the obsession with spreading lies about Japan. Is this unjust? Yes. But you don't have to lie to prove your point. It reminds me of the other myths, like the age of consent being 13 myth, as if article 177 of the Japanese penal code is the only thing establishing age of consent (it's separated into multiple laws in other countries as well), or portraying black companies as the norm in Japan, or that Japanese people basically work nonstop, even though their work hours have fallen behind America's in recent years (I know unpaid overtime exists, but it exists in America too). Once again, falsely linking true information, like the suicide rate (a separate issue) to the misleading claims to give them more credence.
One other thing linked to the work culture is another myth: the low birth rate. Declining birth rates are a phenomenon in East Asia, but so is low immigration rates of high birth rate populations. If you exclude first and second generation immigrants from western countries, you'll find similar "below replacement rate" birth rates.
It's been a couple decades. Can you people update your information? You really should be ashamed. Do you repeat every absurd claim you hear without skepticism, or just when it concerns Japan? I wonder how much higher that number will go? It seems to get higher every time I hear it. Are we shooting for 99.999999999999%? You'd think at some point your bullshit detector would respond.
1
American YouTubers time to shine.
2
Let's Play are no more legal in North America.
Companies choose not to enforce it due to goodwill from the community and increased exposure, which is largely a net positive. If any company went on a ban spree of people using their game for content, there is nothing that the content creators could do to stop them, legally.
There's a reason YouTube, Twitch, etc don't bother to fight it out when they get DMCA'd by a given publisher: They know they'd fucking lose, and they'd set a precedent for all future cases.
1
in japan, the common ground rule is to admit to the crime you committed
otherwise you can see your self dragging it on and on and on and on and on
japanese justice system works drastically different from your “ innocent until proven guilty”
2
I get why they don't approve of the footage but fucking arrested over a VN let's play? Japan is fucking bullshit, Spike Chunsoft for that matter as well
2
If only they did the same for the recap
1
This thread is oddly full of corporate boot lickers.
13
It’s because it’s Japan. No other place would get a free pass like this. It’s kinda sad really.
7
Visual novel "gameplay"
6
Maybe you control a little digital hand that turns the pages.
1
Sorry can you explain?
1
The justice system in Japan is also a complete joke. They probably locked him alone in a box until he agreed to confess to all of the charges.
5
Nah, can't leave him alone too long, that would allow him sleep. Gotta make sure to keep dragging him out for "questioning" or such every few hours
3
…. What kind of visual novel.
3
Steins Gate
2
Are Let's Plays not legal in Japan? Can't read japanese so going based off comments but not seeing anything about it.
2
Let's Plays are not legal anywhere.
Gameplay videos are, and always have been, copyright of the publisher.
Most publishers choose not to pursue legal remedy. Good publishers give you specific permission to do these videos.
5
I've never understood why they let people make a video/series of the WHOLE game. Especially games that are strictly about the story. Small clip, a review, and maybe the first act/hour. At some point, people are just watching the videos and not playing the game. Sure a good chunk wouldn't have bought it anyway but they are missing out on some sales I bet.
-5
Hardly, if I'm interested enough to watch someone but not buy it, then I'm not interested enough to buy it with or without the video.
On the flip side if I see a game I didn't know about or had no interest in and I get interested enough I'll actually go out and buy it to play it myself (and then finish the let's play series after I finish it myself) as opposed to if the videos never existed. Have never not gotten a game just because someone has a let's play video of the whole thing
4
An insignificant number of sales.
1
It absolutely would tank sales.
A good aspect would be if letsplays stopped say halfway in the story of a game, people interested would buy it to finish it, those that never would likely aren't interested enough to see the ending anyways.
0†
They're not legal anywhere.
Companies allow it in North America because they generally feel that the positives of allowing it outweigh the negatives, but they can shut it down at any time. A Let's Play or Stream is a violation of copyright law. Period.
1
Not period. There's the fair use exception in the US. As long as the resulting video is transformative like if there is a strategy guide dictated during the gameplay, it could hold up in court (although 100% of the time, the platform won't even differentiate for liability reasons). But adding a streamer's silent face like most let's plays wouldn't cut it.
2
Short clips would pass muster (i.e. "Here's Korok seed #236"), but not a full Let's Play or Stream. Neither is sufficiently transformative or passes the four major arms of fair use.
Put it this way: If YouTube or Twitch thought they could win the legal fight, they would not be kowtowing when companies tell them no. They would tell Atlus and other companies which go after Streamers to pound sand. The fact that don't set the legal precedent means they know it wouldn't be a precedent they want to set, legally speaking.
0
That's complete horseshit. They side with copyright holders on all claims no matter what the video is, even when the "copyright holder" doesn't even hold the copyright. It's true that YouTube and Twitch bow down to copyright claims, but it's not because they think they can't win, it's because they don't want to fight.
Most lets plays would fall completely under fair use, the only kind I could see a legal case against would be videos that upload only cutscenes straight from the game with no content alterations
0
I don't feel this is clear cut as you think.
1
It is. If it was anything but clear cut, twitch and/or YouTube would have fought a legal battle about it by now. That they have not is the clearest indicator we have: They don't fight losing battles. Twitch's entire business model runs on streaming games, and they have never once fought in court for the right to stream a game the owners didn't want streamed, and that is because they know they'd lose.
There is a zero percent chance a Let's Play or Stream passes the bar enough to be fair use. Period.
1
But you said it yourself there's zero existing case law. Besides, youtube and twitch have no obligation to act on the streamers' behalf, who are really the ones at risk here and would have to challenge in court.
There comes the question of 'is playing a video game copyright infringement'. Or any game at all? Is it illegal to play Monopoly or UNO in front of a group of people? What about a pinball game? A game of Ice Climbers? Zelda 1? Final Fantasy IV? At what point is it 'showing too much of the game' to not be a fair, transformative use of the work? The legal term 'fair use' is intentionally vague and I fear if we ever say that people can't record gameplay to show others it will have a massive chilling effect on free speech, and freedoms in general.
1
[removed]
1
I mean what did they expect to happen
1
moral of the story don't but games that arrest and sue you
1
Moral of the story Don't buy games that arrest and sue you
1
Protip for all YouTubers who want to make Let's Play videos or stream: You are very arguably violating copyright law when you do. If a company like Atlus says not to display footage after a certain date in Persona 5, they absolutely have the right to do so.
Good news, though: The vast majority of publishers these days are cool with you guys. Make your content using their games, not the companies who don't want you to do so.
0†
Settle down, they aren't okay with it.
They just understand the backlash that would result.
Not every company is nintendo and has enough of a hold on a part of the market to not care.
7
No, they don't care because largely, Let's Plays and Streams increase sales. If you think they're just worried about backlash, you're wrong.
-1†
They are though?
Gaben got extremely lucky back in 2004 when he tricked the German teen who hacked Valve and leaked HL2 into coming to US in order to have him arrested. The German special agents barely managed to stop the poor kid before he boarded the plane, otherwise he would've gotten his 20 or 30 years in prison (yes, that is the normal punishment for high profile foreign hackers in the US, they frequently get extradited and give such sentences), the public would've absolutely flipped out and likely boycotted Valve. Quite possible we would've have Steam nowadays if Gabe got his revenge back then.
Hell, forget about that case. Let's look at Blizzard who lost so, so many paying customers during their China bootlicking scandal. Imagine how much more money they'd lose if they started suing people streaming their games on Youtube and Twitch.
1
Anecdotal but a lot of the games I've bought or played is directly due to seeing a youtube person play it first
1
My question is: why can they stop you?
Like, if I paid for Persona 5, it's mine. Why can't I stream whatever I want from it?
Atlas can bitch about "spoilers" all they want, but even then, how could they legally stop me from just going onto forums and posting spoilers?
2†
Why can't you remix a song and release it without licensing the song? Why can't you buy a few DVDs and start up a theater business? Why can't you read a book and sell your copy as an audiobook? Etc, etc.
You buying the product doesn't give you the IP rights. Fucking duh.
3†
Because showing someone a video-game is not the same as letting them play it. Also it requires effort and unique input from the person playing the game.
Gameplay you film and gameplay I film will not be the same.
Playing a video-game is the most important part. That's why we buy video-games to begin with.
If we only listened to video-games, it would be a song. If we only watched video-games, it would be a movie.
I'm not trying to argue, I'm just wondering why the law is the way it is.
5
The thing a lot of people forget is that the company doesn't just own the "gameplay". They own the likenesses of all the characters. They own the level the game is being played in. They own the code behind the game, etc, etc.
Think of it like this: You can play a game of football, no problem. Anyone can, if they have the equipment, naturally. You can't pitch your game of football as the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Dallas Cowboys as presented by the NFL (with your players wearing the numbers and names of Steelers/Cowboys players and their team jerseys) and monetize it, because even if the way you play the game doesn't resemble any Steelers versus Cowboys game previous recorded, you do not own the rights to the Steelers, Cowboys, or the likenesses of the players.
The law is the way it is for a more important reason, too. It protects the small guys from the big guys, because laws have to be equal. If you can do it to a big corporation, they can legally do the same in reverse. You don't want that, trust me.
-1†
You didn't buy persona 5 though. You bought a license to use it. The same goes for almost anything digital based you have. Music, games, the operating system you're using right now, etc.
1
I mean it's literally their IP they have alot of rights to protect it, and in this case it pretty obviously cost them some sales why buy the visual novel when I can just watch a video of it? It's not like other games that welcome this as it can and alot of time does increase sales this was along the lines of uploading a movie and people watching the pirated version rather then buying a ticket.
-7
[deleted]
0
Nice maybe I'll watch a few and save some money... Simply uploading someone else's content is making yourself liable if you actually comment on said thing you could argue that people are watching it for your take. I don't really have a problem with it personally except maybe how lazy it is
And yeah 40000 views is not quite in the millions of views this guy had I don't think it's done the same damage somehow...
-1
[deleted]
0
I honestly think protecting IPs is a fruitless gesture considering how permanent the internet is, companies may think they have protected their property by removing one source of purported infringement, but there will and always will be people who slip through the cracks by doing the same thing.
0
[removed]
1
So what do nothing and accept major loss to revenue? Deleting the more obvious ones definitely helps to slow down the damage of course someone else could put it back what should they do just nothing and let YouTube profit of their IP? Do nothing and loose major sales? I honestly think you and that U/fartg0blin who deleted all his comments are just angry something might actually start to happen with all these blatant stealing of IPs and that you might have to pay for more stuff...
0
Here this should answer most questions since the OP is useless and expects everyone to know how read Japanese.
"Arrested was Shinobu Yoshida (52), a self-proclaimed YouTuber from Chikusa Ward, Nagoya City. According to the police, from June to July last year, Yoshida took a picture of him playing a game about "STEINS; It is suspected of violating the copyright law for publishing three videos such as "game play videos" on YouTube, a posting site, without permission. Yoshida confessed to the police investigation that he had posted the game synopsis in the recorded video without permission, and admitted to the charges, stating, "There is no doubt that I posted the video even though I knew it was illegal." It means that In addition to this video, Yoshida has distributed several "spoiler videos" that reveal the ending of the anime, etc., and the total number of views of the videos has reached about 5.5 million. According to the police, it is the first time in the country to be arrested for violating the copyright law over gameplay videos."
-4
I posted a summary an hour ago, this sub is just a dick and hid the post
7
You do know you could just copy paste the summary like I did rather than a link right? SMH 🤦
-10
You already posted as good a summary as I did so I felt no need to add to it, I just wanted to fight the accusation that I was useless and just dumped a Japanese link without a summary by showing my post.
I expected this sub to work normally, but apparently they have been deleting my posts in this thread so who know if you'll even see this.
11
Cannot read japanese.
My japanese is not great, but from what I can understand: 52 year old man was arrested in a city in Nagoya because of playing Steins;Gate (one of the games, dunno which one but don’t think it’s the main one)
Apparently it is the first time someone was arrested on grounds of copyright infringement of playing a game (in Japan or in the city/prefecture, dunno)
It's a good thing every worthwhile browser has an auto-translate option, then.
I posted a summary.
Where?
OP posted the summary in this thread. For some reason it's not visible unless you click their profile. It did contain another link so it may have been hidden automatically.
Sorry, here, apparently this sub hid it
There is no summary you gnome eating Dumbledore
God I hate reddit, apparently this sub auto-hides posts by OP if it contains a link? You can see it in my profile, or here, an hour ago. No need to be rude.
Nothing to see there.
Wait, wait. Like, Dumbledore eating gnomes, or a gnome eating Dumbledore?
I dont need sleep, I need answers!
[deleted]