3 Count: Manga Cloud

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1: Japanese Court Orders Cloudflare to Pay $3.2 Million Over Manga Piracy

First off today, the AFP reports that the Tokyo District Court has ordered Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million ($3.2 million) to major manga publishers for hosting manga piracy sites.

Cloudflare is a content delivery network that many sites, both legitimate and pirate, use to speed up access and provide additional security. In 2022, four major manga publishers sued the company, alleging that Cloudflare was ignoring piracy on its network and providing services to various pirate sites.

The court has now sided with the publishers, ordering Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million in damages. Cloudflare has said it will appeal the decision.

2: Telangana Police Arrest iBomma Operator in Major Piracy Crackdown

Next up today, Azdhan at Medianama reports that Telangana police in India have arrested a man they claim is behind the popular piracy website iBomma.

The man, Emandi Ravi, is just the latest arrest by the Telangana police targeting pirate websites. They allege he earned roughly Rs 20 crore ($2.3 million) in the operation, which involved 65 mirror sites and over 21,000 pirated films.

The iBomma site is currently offline following the raid. It is unclear what Ravi has been charged with and what his potential punishment is if convicted.

3: LaLiga: ISPs Must Join Anti-Piracy War to Secure Broadcasting Rights

Finally, today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak reports that LaLiga, the top-tier Spanish football (soccer) league, has released a statement saying that ISPs must join their anti-piracy strategy if they want to secure broadcasting rights to its matches.

The league is opening up the bidding process for seasons ranging from 2027/28 through 2031/32. However, it’s warned that, in addition to being the highest bidder, companies must lay out their anti-fraud policy.

That policy will go beyond site blocking, which LaLiga is already known for. It will include watermarking individual streams, geoblocking systems and other digital rights management tools. In the agreement, LaLiga reserves the right to terminate any contracts with those who fail to adequately protect their content or provide a full accounting of their efforts to do so.

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