Don't you just hate movie spoilers?
Well, you don't hate them like the Japanese do!
According to Gizmodo, Wataru Takeuchi, who ran a spoiler website, posted spoilers about Godzilla Minus One and the anime adaptation of Overlord that got him in serious trouble with the law.
Normally, posting reviews, which might contain some spoilers, is covered under fair use reporting laws.
But Takeuchi is the king of the spoiler monsters!
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What makes Takeuchi's case stand out, though, is that the work of his site was found to have gone well beyond the case of fair use, transcribing dialogue and describing scenes in such detail, and without commentary, that eventually two of those articles — one about Godzilla Minus One and another about the anime adaptation of Overlord — prompted respective rights owners Toho and Kadokawa Shoten to file joint suits against him.
In other words, Takeuchi spoiled the whole dang movie and infringed copyright law.
The Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) explained that Takeuchi was first charged in 2024, along with two other managers of the spoiler site.
Takeuchi was eventually charged with breaking laws around the creation of ‘a new work by making creative modifications to the original while preserving its essential characteristics.' CODA further said that in light of the case, it plans to ‘implement effective measures against similar websites.'
In the end, Takeuchi spoiled his life by getting sentenced to 1.5 years in prison on top of a 1-million-yen ($6,000) fine.
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