The site\u2019s popularity did not go unnoticed by manga publisher Shueisha, which took legal action at a California federal court last summer to uncover the operator\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n
Shueisha filed a request for a DMCA subpoena, directed at Cloudflare, hoping to expose the operator. This appeared to yield results right away, as mangajikan.com and the related domain alammanga.com were voluntarily taken down soon after.<\/p>\n
The DMCA subpoena was granted\u00a0last October<\/a>, despite fierce objections from Mangajikan\u2019s former operator. However, Cloudflare could not hand anything over yet, as both sides\u00a0disagreed on the scope<\/a>\u00a0of the associated protective order. This disagreement was finally resolved this week.<\/p>\n At the heart of the dispute was whether Shueisha could use the pirate site operator\u2019s identity for copyright lawsuits in Japan or other foreign jurisdictions. The manga publisher argued it should have that flexibility, as it couldn\u2019t know the operator\u2019s location when requesting the subpoena.<\/p>\n Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson disagreed.<\/p>\n In a discovery order issued this week, the court stated that the DMCA subpoena\u2019s purpose and scope is clearly defined by the\u00a0sworn declaration<\/a>\u00a0Shueisha made to obtain it. This legally required statement says that the subpoena \u201cwill only be used for the purpose of protecting rights under this title.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018[T]his title\u2019 means title 17 of the United States Code, so only U.S.-based copyright claims are within the purpose of the subpoena,\u201d Judge Hixson wrote, adding that \u201cforeign litigation is outside of that scope.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The ruling effectively means Shueisha can identify the operator to its team in Japan, as long as this is to aid U.S. copyright enforcement. However, it cannot use the data obtained through the Cloudflare subpoena to file copyright infringement actions in foreign courts.<\/p>\n The court also rejected Shueisha\u2019s argument that filing a U.S. copyright lawsuit would effectively end the protective order\u2019s restrictions, allowing the publisher to then use the publicly filed information however it wished, including in foreign proceedings.<\/p>\n Judge Hixson characterized this as an impermissible bait-and-switch.<\/p>\n \u201cFiling a U.S.-based copyright claim does not cause the protections of the protective order to evaporate. They remain in place; otherwise, Shueisha\u2019s attestation was false. It is not acceptable for Shueisha to make an attestation that it will use the requested information \u2018only\u2019 for one purpose and then later change its mind,\u201d the order states.<\/p>\n Mangajikan\u2019s attorneys previously warned the court that Shueisha\u2019s position would create a \u201croadmap\u201d for rightsholders to circumvent DMCA limitations. They could simply obtain identity information through a DMCA subpoena, file a token U.S. lawsuit to make the info public, and then use it for foreign lawsuits.<\/p>\n While the pirate site operator won on the foreign litigation issue, the court rejected most of the operator\u2019s proposed privacy protections as excessive. Judge Hixson called the operator\u2019s 19-page protective order proposal \u201cexcessive,\u201d noting it would have micromanaged Shueisha\u2019s internal operations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The final protective order clarifies that, while Shueisha can publicly identify the operator by name in U.S. court filings, other personal information, such as email addresses, phone numbers, and financial data, remains protected.<\/p>\n The order allows Shueisha to share the operator\u2019s identity with its employees in Japan, coordinate with U.S. law enforcement, and use the information for settlement negotiations or U.S.-based copyright claims.<\/p>\n With the protective order now in place, Cloudflare must hand over the identity information to Shueisha\u2019s lawyers. The publisher must then decide if it wants to use that information to file a U.S. copyright lawsuit, or pursue alternative enforcement options.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If Shueisha fails to file a U.S. action before the statute of limitations expires, the company must destroy all identity information.<\/p>\n Needless to say, the case continues to be closely watched by other rightsholders and pirate site operators. DMCA subpoenas are a widely used intelligence gathering tool, and the present order confirms they are not without boundaries.<\/p>\n \u2014<\/em><\/p>\n A copy of Magistrate Judge Hixson\u2019s Discovery Order is available\u00a0here (pdf)<\/a>. The final protective order as modified by the court is available\u00a0here (pdf)<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source: \u00a0U.S. Enforcement Only<\/h2>\n
![\"out](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/ooscope.png.webp)
<\/picture><\/center> <\/p>\nU.S. Lawsuit Can\u2019t Be Used as Bypass<\/h2>\n
No Privacy Fortress for Pirate Site Operator<\/h2>\n
![\"excessive\"](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/excessive-1.png.webp)
<\/picture><\/center> <\/p>\nWhat\u2019s Next<\/h2>\n
![\"permitted\"](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/permitted.png.webp)
<\/picture><\/center> <\/p>\n![\"TorrentFreak\"](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/torrentfreak.png\")
<\/a> TorrentFreak.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"