Recently, a Twitter user @AsarathaHS revealed that Anime giants Toho and Aniplex have taken legal action to identify those responsible for leaking anime episodes before their official releases. According to the information shared, both companies have filed a request to obtain a court subpoena that would allow Twitter to provide information about 12 accounts linked to the unauthorized dissemination of content. This is a clear effort by the companies to take legal action against alleged infringers.

In the documentation presented by Toho and Aniplex, 12 Twitter accounts named for allegedly sharing images and content from anime episodes before their premiere. Accounts listed include:

• @WERLeaks / @msthshra / @\IDuckyx / @Nakayasee / @knyesta / @Saara Adam21 / @Snowz7x / @seveninone71 / @jobisky / @SinzsSzn2 / @Root25257968 / @mamutchiq2030

The legal process: a subpoena to obtain user information

These accounts have been flagged as possible responsible for publishing unauthorized images of episodes before the release datewhich constitutes a violation of the producers' copyright. In addition, Toho and Aniplex identified three main methods used to detect these leaks:

1. Publication of unauthorized images of episodes before their premiere.
2. Use of intentionally incorrect information in credits to catch those who leak the content.
3. Embedding watermarks in episodes that allow us to track the origin of the leaks.

Because Toho and Aniplex are foreign companies, their ability to legally subpoena Twitter and obtain the offending user data is limited. For this reason, they requested a subpoena that would allow them to access the personal data of the accounts in question, in order to subsequently proceed with legal action. Among the data they seek to obtain are:

• THE names of users.
• THE email addresses associated with accounts, including those used for password recovery.
• THE phone numbers linked to accounts.
• THE payment methods registered.
• THE account access logswhich include IP addresses and access type.

The information was obtained through Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)a tool that allows access to public court records. This makes it clear that the case is in a serious phase of investigation.

What's next for investigated accounts?

Toho and Aniplex are seeking to collect as much information as possible about these accounts so that, once identified, they can pursue civil action against the alleged leakers. Without this data, companies cannot take formal legal action against users who shared content without authorization.

It's important to note that Toho and Aniplex's investigation focuses exclusively on leaks of anime episodes, not manga, and legal proceedings in such cases are often slow. In fact, many point out that this process could have been ongoing for some time already. Furthermore, there is a second subpoena filed by Shogakukan on August 20, although the details of the accounts investigated in that case have not been published as of yet.

Some users noted that the accounts mentioned are not directly linked to the current leaks, but could have been detected by one of the detection methods used by the companieshow to publish images with watermarks. Even if the users were not directly responsible for the leaks, sharing images with embedded watermarks could have been enough to put them under investigation.

This case highlights the growing efforts of anime producers to protect their intellectual property in the digital age.where leaks can seriously harm both the commercial impact and control of the narrative of releases.

Source: @AsarathaHS on Twitter