Japan pushes to use AI to fight widespread copyright infringement

Japan's cultural heritage protection agency is researching and implementing AI-based solutions to deal with growing copyright infringement in the manga and anime industries.

With the strong development of technology, famous Japanese comics and animation works are often illegally copied and distributed on online platforms, causing great damage to authors and producers.

Applying AI to detect and prevent these violations will help protect the rights of authors, while maintaining the cultural and creative values ​​of the Japanese entertainment industry.

The proliferation of websites offering illegal comics and anime is becoming an increasingly serious problem. Currently, there are an estimated 1,000 pirated websites offering popular comics and anime for free.

These websites not only cause great damage to authors, producers and official distribution companies, but also create a chaotic and difficult to control online environment.

Identifying and taking down these websites becomes extremely difficult as they frequently change domain names, remain anonymous and spread through various platforms, making it challenging for authorities to prevent copyright infringement.

A group of Japanese publishers said that these websites mainly offer free downloads of content, especially graphic novels, making it easy for users to access and illegally copy the works without going through legal distribution channels.

The viewing and distribution of Japanese manga and anime without the permission of the authors is causing billions of dollars in losses to the industry every year.

Therefore, developing a program that uses AI to detect and stop the circulation of pirated materials not only protects the rights of authors, but also contributes to supporting Japan's creative economy.

However, implementing this solution requires a significant investment. The relevant agency had to propose a budget of up to 300 million yen (about 2 million USD) to develop and deploy an AI system to solve the problem of copyright infringement.

The funding will be used to build, test and maintain AI technologies, including software to scan and detect pirated content on online platforms, and to train and support automated systems to ensure maximum efficiency in handling violations.

The system will scan websites using advanced technology to detect images and text, to determine whether these websites contain or host pirated comic books and anime content.

The software will compare images and text on websites with a database of copyrighted works, thereby detecting and accurately identifying illegally copied documents. This system will help quickly detect copyright violations and support the effective removal of infringing content.

The Japan Times, after reviewing a written statement from the relevant agency, reported that current censors are "barely able to keep up" with the huge volume of illegal content circulating on the Internet.

The rapid increase in websites and platforms sharing pirated material has created an overwhelming workload for moderation teams, making it impossible for them to handle every case in a timely and effective manner.

Therefore, the agency finds that automated systems, using advanced technologies such as AI, are a necessary solution to deal with copyright infringement, helping to detect and remove infringing content quickly and accurately.