Japanese BitTorrent users face rising copyright settlement demands

Japanese users who download adult videos through BitTorrent are increasingly receiving court notices and demands for substantial settlement payments, as copyright holders pursue alleged online infringement. One Tokyo man in his 40s received a notice saying a court had authorised the disclosure of his name, address and telephone number. A lawyer representing a video production company later demanded 500,000 yen, or about US$3,200, and warned that civil or criminal action could follow.

The man said he initially thought the documents were fraudulent, but sought legal advice after concluding they appeared genuine. Negotiations are under way to reduce the amount demanded. Applications for orders seeking users’ identifying information at the Tokyo District Court’s intellectual-property division rose from 814 in 2023 to 2,454 in 2024 and 5,320 in 2025.

A communications ministry survey found that 95.6 per cent of disclosure requests received by major internet providers in 2024 concerned alleged infringement involving adult videos. Rights holders can identify IP addresses linked to file-sharing activity and ask courts to order internet providers to reveal subscriber information. BitTorrent uses peer-to-peer transfers, meaning a user may upload parts of a file while downloading it.

Lawyer Izumi Toda said users should not assume settlement demands could simply be ignored. He said rights holders might pursue criminal complaints if recipients refused to respond, while sincere engagement and individual circumstances could allow negotiations. Another lawyer, Yasufumi Sasanami, said production companies had developed systems to make claims on a large scale.

He warned that settling one claim might not end the matter because users may have downloaded material from several companies. Japan’s communications ministry has warned people against casual use of file-sharing software as disputes over payment demands continue.