Advanced Search

Choose a Category                  Announcements Audio Desktop PCs Digital cameras & camcorders Displays Environment Events Film, TV, manga & anime Gaming GPS Home theater Household Internet Interviews iPad iPhone Japan Mobile computing NOT Japan Off Topic Peripherals Power R&D Robots Software Storage Toys Transportation Video Wireless WTF?

Choose a Month                     October 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005

 Get the stories!  Or just the comments...

• Home
  • Top
  • Archives
  • Categories
  • Tags
  • Sites We Like
• About & Contact
• Datefinder
• Buy J-Gadgets!
• Snapp! PR
• Advertise!

YouTube deletes 30,000 Japanese copyright clips on request
Tweet

YouTube has deleted close to 30,000 files after complaints from an organization representing Japanese copyright holders, the organization said Friday.

The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC), which collects royalty payments for musicians, submitted a list to YouTube of 29,549 files that it judged infringed on the rights of 23 Japanese content companies, said Masato Oikawa, a spokesman for the organization in Tokyo.

The files are mostly entertainment and music TV programs and were discovered during a five-day audit of the site that started October 2, Oikawa said.

The 23 companies that backed JASRAC include all of Japan’s major TV networks, public broadcaster Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), some regional and cable TV broadcasters, and other organizations including the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) and Yahoo Japan.

It’s not the first time YouTube has been in the cross hairs of Japanese broadcasters. Earlier this year NHK asked the site to remove a clip of a children’s song and said it would go after other files on the site.

YouTube has a lot of Japanese TV clips compared to those of other nations because of the strong cult following that Japanese pop culture has around the world.

It’s also growing in popularity with Japanese users. The site posted massive growth in Japan between December 2005 and March this year, with the number of monthly users growing from 201,000 to 2.1 million, according to an estimate from NetRatings Japan in April.

YouTube agreed to be acquired by Google earlier this month in a US$1.65 billion stock transaction. Analysts have wondered about YouTube’s ability to avoid lawsuits over the vast amount of copyright material that exists on the site, and some predicted the company would soon be hit with lawsuits.

Universal Music Group, Sony BMG and Warner Music each signed deals with the companies earlier this week to display their content, which could help shield the video sites from some lawsuits.

— Martyn Williams

06:17 PM Mark Hiratsuka • Permalink
Add a comment | More DWT | Get a cool job in Japan! | Follow us on Twitter

Date much?

Japanese gadgets from Tokyo Zakka! — Perfect gifts for your nerdiest friends back home!

C'mon - let's hear it...

Spammers beware: Any links in comments to commercial websites will be treated as paid advertising and will be charged at rate of $10 per link per day. Invoices will be sent to the idiots who hire you for so-called SEO jobs. All you good people will always keep it real, of course - thanks!