Nhentai Asks California Court to Dismiss Piracy Lawsuit

Nhentai.net, a popular adult site with dozens of millions of monthly visits, has asked a California federal court to dismiss a piracy lawsuit filed last year by publisher PCR Distributing. Among other things, the site argues that PCR lack sufficient ownership of the copyrights in question and has previously granted permission for the use of the content.

Manga and anime have become increasingly popular in recent years. These formats originate in Japan but are now in demand worldwide.

Similar popularity also extends to the adult counterpart known as “hentai,” which has millions of avid fans.

Like other forms of media, not everyone accessing hentai content chooses to pay for it. Instead, many people opt for free websites like nHentai.net, which averaged close to 80 million visits in recent months.

Nhentai Sued by Publisher for Widespread Piracy

Nhentai.net has been around for over a decade but in a move last summer, California company PCR Distributing described the site as a threat to its business. PCR does business under various brands, including J18 and JAST USA, and views the ‘pirate’ site as unlicensed competition.

Initially, PCR requested a DMCA subpoena asking Cloudflare to unmask the people behind the site, after they allegedly failed to process takedown notices. These requests are typically straightforward but not in this case, as Nhentai decided to object.

Facing opposition, PCR dropped the subpoena request. Instead, it decided to file a full complaint at a California federal court. According to the publisher, Nhentai shares copyrighted material without obtaining permission from rightsholders.

“[Nhentai] hosts a vast collection of hentai works, including commercially produced content, much of which, based on information and belief, is shared without proper authorization from the owners,” the complaint read.

Nhentai Fights Back with a Vengeance

Nhentai’s initial opposition already indicated that the site doesn’t plan to leave these allegations uncontested. And indeed, when PCR requested early discovery, Nhentai objected, pointing out that PCR had granted express permission to use its copyrighted works.

This week, the alleged ‘pirate’ site went a step further, requesting the court to dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety. The request isn’t based on a single issue; Nhentai says there are several grounds for the court to end the lawsuit prematurely.

Not the author

First, Nhentai argues that it isn’t clear whether PCR is actually the ‘author’ of all works. Some official copyright registration records list ‘JAST USA’ as the author.

Although PCR claims to operate under the JAST USA brand, the defendants argue that PCR is a separate company and has not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that they possess the necessary licenses or assignments for the copyrighted works.

“Public records for JAST USA show it has an entirely separate status as a ‘stock corporation’ with what appears to be different ownership, i.e., no overlapping directors, officers, addresses, etc. from those shown in PCR’s corporate filings,” the motion to dismiss alleges.

From the motion 

Nhentai asserts that this potential discrepancy in ownership is sufficient grounds to dismiss the lawsuit.

What is Copyrighted?

The defense also brings up another copyright concern. They point out that it’s not clear what is actually copyrighted. The Nhentai website mostly shares images, but some copyright registrations refer to literary works, which might not cover the images in question.

“Under copyright law, ‘Literary works’ specifically exclude images,” they argue. “This is critical because Plaintiff has not demonstrated any right to sue for copyright infringement as to the images.”

Along similar lines, Nhentai contends that works registered as “English translations” may not grant the plaintiffs ownership of the corresponding images displayed on their website.

Too Late

Nhentai further argues that there are various problems with the timing of the lawsuit. Some of the alleged copyright infringements are barred as the statute of limitations has allegedly passed, for example.

In addition, Nhentai believes that some of the copyrights were registered years after the associated images were distributed on its site. This means that the copyrights for the works were not registered when they were originally uploaded.

“In such an instance, the law mandates that Plaintiff is not entitled to statutory damages or attorneys’ fees as to this copyright,” Nhentai writes.

“Plaintiff also cannot show entitlement to statutory damages and/or attorneys’ fees on the other basis in section 412, as the work was not copyrighted within three months of publication,” the motion to dismiss adds.

Copyright Registration Timing

Permission Granted

Finally, Nhentai’s attorney also highlights that a representative of PCR’s brands previously granted written permission via email for use of their content and had even explored the possibility of running paid advertisements on the site.

One of the emails suggested that piracy helped manga and anime to grow in the West. It stated that “this isn’t a takedown request or a DMCA”, offering a collaboration instead.

Email (provided as evidence) 

Given this alleged ‘permission’, as well as the other arguments put forward in the motion, Nhentai believes that PCR has no legitimate claim for copyright infringement. Therefore, the case should be dismissed.

No Tongan Connection

If the court ultimately decides not to dismiss the case at this stage, Nhentai would at least like it to strike all claims related to Nhentai.to. This site used the same name, but Nhentai.net says that it’s an entirely unaffiliated operation.

“Plaintiff states that Defendants also own and operate the URL nHentai.to.’ As discussed in a hearing before Magistrate Richlin, the website nhentai.to is wholly unrelated to www.nhentai.net,” they write.

The ‘.to’ in nhentai.to refers to the Kingdom of Tonga, an island in Polynesia. It has nothing to do with Plaintiff’s allegations against Nhentai.net,” they add.

PCR has yet to respond to the claims presented in the motion. In an upcoming reply, it’s expected to share its side of the story, which will likely paint a completely different picture. After that, it will be up to the court to render a decision.

A copy of Nhentai’s notice of motions and motion to dismiss, filed at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, is available here (pdf)

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