NHεntai websiteknown for its vast catalog of adult manga and doujinshi, was sued for copyright infringement. The lawsuit was filed by PCR Distributing, a California-based company that operates several hentai brands, including J18 and JAST USA. This company claims that NHεntai does not respond to takedown notices, known as DMCA notices, which has led to a legal dispute.

NHεntai is one of the most visited sites in its category, with almost 80 million visits in June this year alone. Despite its popularity, the site has been flagged for sharing copyrighted material without proper authorization from the owners. PCR Distributing considers NHεntai to be a significant threat to its operation because the site does not allow users to upload content, making it difficult to enforce certain legal protections.

In an attempt to resolve the dispute out of court, NHεntai proposed confidential agreement for PCR in October 2023. However, this offer was rejected and PCR insisted that pirated copies of its works be removed. Despite formal requests for withdrawal, NHεntai reportedly did not remove any of the infringing works.

The situation was made worse by the lawsuit filed last week in California federal court. PCR accuses NHεntai of multiple forms of copyright infringement and demands damages as well as a broad injunction that could result in the closure of the website. This injunction could also force intermediaries, such as search engines and Internet service providers, to block access to NHεntai's domain in the United States.

In a previous legal move, PCR obtains DMCA subpoena to force Cloudflare to reveal the identity of the operators behind NHεntai. However, NHεntai's lawyers managed to block the lawsuit, arguing that the subpoena should not have been granted.

So far, NHεntai has not publicly responded to the lawsuit, although it is expected to do so soon given its history of opposition in previous lawsuits. However, the process poses serious challenges for the future of the site, as an unfavorable decision could lead to its closure in the United States and possibly worldwide.

The dispute also highlights a broader problem in the anime and manga industry: The growing popularity of these formats has been accompanied by an increase in piracywhich affects creators and distributors trying to protect their copyrights.

Source: Torrent Freak