The manga-ka strike back!

Looks like manga-ka aren't all as forgiving as we thought after all. Seeing their work up for download on a particular webpage in Japan, 11 different manga-ka joined forces to file a lawsuit ("Use without consent" cited) against the hosting company and the two people involved with the site.

According to the complaint filed, the two people who made the website scanned in volumes of Devilman and other works and distributed them from their webpage between September 2005 and January 2006 when, as the complaint alleges, the site received around 100,000 hits a day. In 2006, the website creators were also taken to court in Fukuoka Prefecture and were found guilty. The site is currently not distributing manga.

The manga-ka involved in this particular incident are as follows:

Nagai Go (Devilman)
Saitou Takao (Golgo 13)
Inoue Takehiko (Slam Dunk, Vagabond)
Uoto Osamu (Ninja JaJa Marukun)
Kitami Kenichi (Tsuri Baka Nisshi)
Kurashina Ryo
Chiba Tetsuya (Tommorrow's Joe/Ashita no Joe)
Hara Tetsuo (Fist of the North Star/Hokuto no Ken)
Hojo Tsukasa (City Hunter)
Murakami Motoka (Musashi no Ken)
Motomira Hiroshi (Salaryman Kintaro)

Nagai Go and Saitou Takao are seeking 22 million yen in damages. However, this particular incident took place in Japan, where each of these series is licensed. What manga authors and artists think of scanlations still remains a mystery. I know for a fact that there are quite a few out there who appreciate the massive, extra exposure (not to mention licensing deals) that scanlation nets them, but most remain tight-lipped on the subject.

[Via Anime News Network]