FBI Shuts Down Comic Scan Site

[Sledgstone 8,672]

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/17430.html

The FBI has shut down comic scan site htmlcomics.com and seized its servers in a raid supported by a consortium of comic publishers, according to an announcement by Katten Muchen Rosenman, the law firm representing the publishers consortium. Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Bongo, Archie, Conan Properties, Mirage, and United Media were involved.

Htmlcomics.com was the largest site offering scanned American comics, according to the announcement, with an average of 1.6 million visits a day and over 6.6 million pages of comics from 5,700 series. The site was “…producing rampant copyright infringement on a daily basis and depriving artists and publishers of hard-earned and much-needed revenue,” according to the publishers’ attorneys.

The FBI investigation was conducted by its Tampa Field Office, which led to the search warrant served in the raid.

If this can happen to a comic scan site, I wonder if manga scanlators will be targeted in the near future as well...

BTW, has anyone been to that htmlcomics site? I've never heard of it until today.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

ouch

[Kite 3,263]

prob cos Itunes kicked a fuss, as itunes sells digital comics

Manga is a touch one.

As all it is scanning pics,

all text is technically original ;p, it is as taboo as making your own wallpaper imo ;p

[Pchan 5,162]

Never heard of em ... but that's hardcore.

[Kite 3,263]

i remember the FBI shut down l2ownage

as it was running a free version of the MMORPG lineage 2

and i think it had more players then the real servers ;p

[Myk JL 1,731]

*Tries to guard his collection of straight Yiff comics...*

...

*Just realized he thought that out loud...*

...

... $#@! ...