Japan’s current method of combating content piracy via bootleg-hunting software has been less effective than the Japanese government expected it to be. To help boost its anti-piracy campaign, the Japanese government will be hiring a specialist that would help them monitor and search for sites that are hosting unlicensed copyrighted material.
According to Yahoo Japan, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry has relied on automated methods to sniff out illegal uploads of copyrighted materials. Over time, this method has become less effective as the pirated content has been altered slightly in order to bypass detection by said method. To counter the pirates, the METI has decided to hire a specialist that would personally search video-streaming and download sites for copyrighted material. Said specialist would also determine whether or not its presence constitutes economic damage to the rights holders. Should said pirated materials be judged harmful, the ministry would then explore various avenues for legal action.
Yahoo Japan reports that this specialist will be focused on anime and other live-action content such as movies and TV dramas, so it seems that music piracy isn’t as much of a priority for now.
Source: Yahoo Japan, Motherboard
