The Animation Co-Op Defense League (ACDL), a collective consortium of Adult Animation distributor’s and studio’s, has reported on it’s efforts to curb what it calls illegal distribution of adult animation (also known as Hentai). According to their press release, the consortium has made “significant progress in their efforts to educate and combat the proliferation of web sites illegally hosting and offering for sale selling unlicensed content which is owned by the major Animation studios”.

Providing some numbers, the group claims to have - for the year of 2008 alone - already “taken down a total of 10,738 infringers, including: 5006 Movie file-sharing links, 2123 Picture file-sharing links and 3609 Blog post”.

Full Press Release contained here-in after the jump.

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Remember these guys? Masato Nakatsuji, the former 24-year-old Osaka Electro-Communication University graduate student is being charged with copyright violation for the usage of Clannad images as well as defamation of another student.

The Defamation charge was brought about due to his usage of the photograph of a fellow student in an attempt to displace the blame from himself by leading police to the other student.

Although he may have embedded Trojan Horses, Viruses, and other Malware within these images, Japan does not have laws against such and therefore he is not being charged with any crimes in relation to doing so.

Nakajutsi has acknowledged the creation of these images and their malware as being to place hindrance upon Winny - the file-sharing network in which he distributed these images - and also as something he just did “for fun”. Prosecutors are seeking a two year prison sentence.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun [ via ANN ]

According to a press release - and a subsequent post by Kotaku, Square-Enix, developer and publisher of the popular Final Fantasy series, is cracking down on outlets who manufacture and/or sell swords inspired by the series.

Square-Enix has filed a federal lawsuit in the in the Central District of California to seek damages against those whom have infringed upon their IP (seems to be alot of that going around lately). Square-Enix has named at least four manufacturers and retailers in its lawsuit.

The actions taken by Square-Enix came after the United States Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol took possession of a crate of said swords which carried the same designs as those seen in the Final Fantasy series. In relation to the crackdown and investigation by Square-Enix in which many resellers ceased operation and many manufacturers gave them the cold shoulder, General Counsel for Square-Enix, Yasuhiko Hasegawa, had the following to say:

While Square Enix appreciates the enthusiasm of its fans, and values its relationship with them, it is also obligated to protect its intellectual property rights or risk weakening or losing the very rights that enable the company to continue to provide its fans with an exciting entertainment experience.

So without any further details made public or any ideas as to official licensing of swords by Square-Enix (stateside, at least, where these infringements were occurring), the lawsuit trudges on. In the meantime, we shall watch in humor as the guy below laboriously swings around his own custom made bastard sword.

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Singaporean ISP PacNet was today ordered to hand over subscriber data to six Japanese anime companies after a number of alleged copyright violations by said subscribers. The ruling, by Justice Woo Bih Li, is a result of an appeal by Singaporean anime distributor Odex who last year failed to secure the details themselves.

The good news is that Odex was again refused access to the data - as they only sub-license the material, with details going directly to respective Japanese copyright holders; this however is not much of a win considering these companies are clearly corroborating with Odex. Odex was also ordered to pay PacNet’s legal fees of ~$14,000 (US), hohoho.

Source: Straits Times, ChannelNewsAsia

Three users of the popular Japanese P2P application Winny were arrested today, 24th January 2008, charged with uploading anime images/video, in violation of Japanese copyright law.

In Japan it is legal to download copyrighted material, however uploading unauthorized copyrighted material - as was the case for the three arrested - is illegal.

Two of the individuals are charged with uploading episode 23 of Idolmaster Xenoglossia, while the third is charged with uploading images from Clannad (as part of a virus he was trying to spread).

Source: ANN

As a follow up to our previous report of 4chan’s domain being hijacked, it has been brought to our attention that the 4chan.org domain was recovered yesterday at 8:26:35 PM UTC.

What Diditforthelulz looks like at the time of this post.

Additionally, the host of the site claiming the hack has since suspended the user’s account permanently and is in the process of terminating it. They are also working in hand with Moot, other 4chan representatives, and the FBI to resolve the situation. The site hosting the mp3 linked to in the previous post has also been stripped of ownership by the domains registrar.

In the meantime, 4chan proclaims “4 More Years!” as multiple trolls (including a fake Chris Hansen and a fake Moot) continue to parade our comment space with various vulgarities.

UPDATE: The site which formerly claimed the hack that previously displayed an account terminated page now forwards to Google.

On Thursday (13th December), the popular anime/manga/otaku image board 4chan had its domain hijacked and redirected to new servers.

Instead of the usual image board script, users were presented with a forum system (probably phpBB based). About 45 minutes ago this went offline, with the site showing a ‘this account has been suspended message’. At the time of writing the site displays the text:

Did It For The Lulz Owns You
[Lulz]Vipsta
[Lulz]CeLe
[Lulz]Xyrix
[Lulz]Zodiac

Come to IRC.diditforthelulz.com #LULZ for more information

http://www.diditforthelulz.com/

TeamSpeak: ts.diditforthelulz.com:8767

Sources tell us that the hackers may have been ‘on steroids’ (nvm if you don’t visit 4chan ^^).

To listen to the new owner of 4chan speaking with the old owner of 4chan (moot), check out the following mp3:

http://fuckyoursecurity.com/mootgetsraged.mp3

Some screenshots of the forum system that was implemented:

Official updates from the original 4chan crew can be found at:

http://4chanstatus.blogspot.com/

With the recent shooting at Virginia Tech, once again the question of whether or not violence in video games can really cause you to go over the edge and possibly even influence one’s judgement.

Self-proclaimed Crusader-Against-Video-Game-Violence, Jack Thompson, whom is never to far away when an event involving younger people and violence in some form and manner occurs, has already come out and stated that he believes the worst shooting in United States history, which occured not even 48 hours prior to this articles publication, is the result of video game violence. A full statement by Thompson has not yet been released. The problem is that Thompson has been proven false and in some cases, a liar in relation to certain claims of video game violence being linked to person’s choose to commit crimes. Like Kotaku’s Brian Crecente, however, I am saddened by the fact people like Thompson are able to get on national television and spew these erroneus, false, and biased statements. The man is also facing a review hearing before the Florida Bar Association which many hope will lead to disbarment (Losing the right to practice law).

However, It now seems though that Jack is not alone in his views. Dr. Phil McGraw (Pictured Left), whom is a relatively well known psychiatrist whom has his own TV show on which he attempts to solve problems with several individuals, appeared on CNN’s Larry King Live last night to discuss the massacre which took place at Virginia Tech. During the interview, Dr. Phil was asked by Larry, the following: “Why, though — OK, you want to kill someone, you’re crazed, you’re a little nuts, girlfriend drops you, why do you kill innocent people?”. In response, Dr. Phil stated the following:

Well, Larry, every situation is different… The question really is can we spot them. And the problem is we are programming these people as a society. You cannot tell me - common sense tells you that if these kids are playing video games, where they’re on a mass killing spree in a video game, it’s glamorized on the big screen, it’s become part of the fiber of our society. You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath or someone suffering from mental illness and add in a dose of rage, the suggestibility is too high.

And we’re going to have to start dealing with that. We’re going to have to start addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murders of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose.

Full transcript available here.

The question that must be asked is can violence in video games really cause someone to go over the edge? In my personal opinion, I find such to be a rediculous notion. Reason, because psychiatrist try to apply “standard” views to people whom have commited these acts. Can you really apply such views though? For someone to pick up a gun and kill any person for any reason, it has to go much deeper than “I played San Andreas and wanted to act it out”. You cannot just simply place the blame on video games. The practice of blaming entertainment for crime goes back a long time, even when graphic novels were once banned because they “incited youth to commit crimes”.

The next time you see Jack Thompson, listen to what he says, but take it with a grain of salt. Analyze his statement down to the letter. Then ask yourself the question, can video game violence lead to persons commiting crimes?

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24 hours after rearranging its entire Board of Director’s and Take Two is already receiving flak from politicians in New York over its upcoming video game, Grand Theft Auto IV, which is set to be released stateside this October 16th and in Europe on October 19th.

While hopeful gamers fawned over the trailer - helping to knock the servers hosting Rockstar Games and IGN to the ground, New York City officials lamented over its featuring of New York as the setting for Liberty City.

According to New York Daily News:

The latest version of an ultraviolent video game will unleash its murderous mayhem on the streets of New York.

And outraged political leaders say the rampant brutality of the game, Grand Theft Auto IV, has little in common with reality.

Commenting on the subject, City Councilman Peter Vallone of the Council’s Public Safety Commitee had this to say:

“Setting Grand Theft Auto in the safest big city in America would be like setting Halo in Disneyland.”

Rayond Kelly, Police Commissioner stated, “It’s despicable to glamorize violence in games like these, regardless of how far-fetched the setting may be”.

Despite these comments, their story seemed slightly biased and in some cases, entirely distruthful. As most people (whom have actually played the game, rather than listen to the negative press) are aware, you can not sell drugs to children, let alone anyone at all. You also do not [directly] advance through the game by killing prostitutes, although it can be done. However, according to the NY Daily News once again:

In previous incarnations, players advanced through the game by killing cops, selling pornography to children and killing prostitutes.

Such can lead one to believe that the writers of the article hasn’t played Grand Theft Auto a day in their lives, however, it is not far from the rhetoric of a certain other critic: Jack Thompson.

This is not the first time the setting for Grand Theft Auto has been in New York. It has been in Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto 3, GTA: Liberty City Stories, and even made a brief appearance in San Andreas. Hence, this is obviously not the first time it has drawn negative remarks from New York City Officials. “The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers,” said Jason Post, speaking on behalf of New York City’s mayor.

Known as “Things Will Be Different”, the first trailer premiered for GTAIV yesterday. The latest character of the GTA series (featured right), bearing a rugged appearance and an accent hinting towards a Russian background, states the following as the trailer closes: “Life is complicated. I killed people, smuggled people, sold people. Perhaps here, things will be different.” Given the fact that this is Grand Theft Auto we’re talking about, that idea is extremely unlikely.

Take Two declined to comment on this story.

Below are various screenshots for the upcoming GTAIV.

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As a followup to our recent reporting of HongFire Anime Network being stripped of its vB Forum License by PiracyReports due to its containing “Loli”. Jelsoft, the company responsible for the vBulletin software, decided to personally re-instate HongFire’s license and it is back online.