Multiple New Criminal Complaints Accepted for AV Copyright Infringement via BitTorrent

On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, Akarenga Law Office (Representative Attorney: Hisashi Sugiyama) filed criminal complaints with a Tokyo metropolitan police station for the illegal uploading of AV copyrighted works using BitTorrent, and these have been formally accepted. Currently, for legal responses to copyright infringement, cases that cannot be resolved quickly out of court are being moved to criminal proceedings.

【Background Leading to the Acceptance of Criminal Complaints】

Since 2022, Akarenga Law Office has been responding to infringements by users who upload and share copyrighted works without permission via BitTorrent. We have commissioned a specialized investigation company and have filed thousands of petitions to date. We are collecting evidence that can withstand not only court trends but also criminal cases, given that they are copyright infringement incidents, and our evidence collection is deeper than that of other law firms.

Due to the recent situation and strong requests from copyright holders, we are actively pursuing criminal complaints against some infringers who do not agree to settlement negotiations for an early resolution. We have heard that some experts are giving legally unreasonable advice to copyright infringers, such as that there is no need to agree to a settlement, which we evaluate as extremely inappropriate for infringer defense. Therefore, this time, we are particularly targeting infringers who have appointed agents who strongly advocate such a policy. Now that the complaints have been accepted by a Tokyo metropolitan police station, a full-scale investigation by law enforcement agencies will begin.

【The Reality of Copyright Infringement Using BitTorrent】

BitTorrent is a P2P communication technology that allows users to directly share files in a distributed manner over the internet, originally developed for legitimate data transfer. However, in recent years, its misuse for illegal activities such as uploading and sharing copyrighted works like videos, music, and books without the copyright holder's permission has become a serious problem that continues to this day.

【Preceding Enforcement Cases】

The acceptance of these complaints is not the firm's first criminal action. In February 2025, a Tokyo metropolitan police station also accepted criminal complaints against multiple infringers for unauthorized uploading of copyrighted works using BitTorrent, and search and seizure operations were conducted. The targets in that case, similar to this one, were also negotiating with legal representation but refused to engage in good faith settlement negotiations.

【Future Outlook】

Akarenga Law Office has received disclosure orders in all of the thousands of requests for sender information disclosure it has filed to date, building a high track record in identifying infringers.

Based on this track record, we plan to continue and expand criminal complaints against infringers who do not agree to settlements, in cooperation with police departments nationwide. Under copyright law, illegal downloading and uploading can be subject to criminal penalties, and we are issuing a renewed warning.

【About Akarenga Law Office】

・Hisashi Sugiyama Representative Attorney, Akarenga Law Office (Member of the Sapporo Bar Association)

While his main area of expertise is corporate legal support with an eye toward IPOs (Initial Public Offerings), he also has extensive experience in copyright infringement cases involving P2P networks and BitTorrent.