If it wasn't on this whole time, you can be sure that it's on now, oh yes you can.
What's on, you ask? The war against scanlation, that's what. Pretty much every major manga publisher on both sides of the Pacific have joined forces to form a "multi-national manga anti-piracy coalition" to combat the "rampant and growing problem of internet piracy plaguing the manga industry". Obviously, they're talking about scanlations, particularly the "aggregator" sites that gather scans together in one place to earn ad revenue and charge membership fees and whatnot.
The membership roster is impressive indeed, including the thirty-six members of the Japan Digital Comic Association, Square Enix, VIZ Media, TokyoPOP, the Tuttle-Mori Agency, Yen Press, and Vertical, inc.
Said a spokesperson:
“It is unfortunate that this action has become necessary,” said a spokesperson for the group. “However, to protect the intellectual property rights of our creators and the overall health of our industry, we are left with no other alternative but to take aggressive action. It is our sincere hope that offending sites will take it upon themselves to immediately cease their activities. Where this is not the case, however, we will seek injunctive relief and statutory damages. We will also report offending sites to federal authorities, including the anti-piracy units of the Justice Department, local law enforcement agencies and FBI.”
And that's that. It's on.
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