(MENAFN) A Japanese court on Wednesday ordered the US cloud service company Cloudflare Inc. to pay roughly 500 million yen ($3 million) in damages to four major Japanese publishers over copyright violations involving popular manga, as stated by reports.

The court found that Cloudflare “failed in its duty to stop” providing services to one of the largest illegal sites through a contractual relationship, allowing pirated content to circulate.

Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi noted that the company had simplified its identification process, enabling the piracy site operator to remain anonymous while efficiently distributing pirated material, and did not suspend services even after the publishers reported the infringements.

Cloudflare defended itself by claiming it was unaware of the violations, arguing that it was the website operator that transmitted the infringing content. The company also announced plans to appeal the ruling, warning that allowing it to stand could severely impact internet efficiency and reliability.

This case marks the first instance in which a court has held a company facilitating the transfer of cached digital content liable for damages, according to reports. The affected publishers include Kodansha Ltd., Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Kadokawa Corp., known for titles like One Piece and Attack on Titan.

Separately, Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs has issued formal warnings to 25 domestic and foreign digital service providers, including major platforms such as Cloudflare, OpenAI, Duolingo, Dropbox, Shutterstock, and Getty Images, for failing to register under the country’s mandatory Electronic System Operator rules.

Alexander Sabar, the director general for Digital Space Oversight, stated, “If a platform continues to ignore the notification, administrative sanctions, including access termination, may be imposed,” as reported.

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