Godzilla Films AI-Colorized Without Permission Trigger Arrest in Japan
Japanese pop culture news edited by Patrick Macias
A man in his sixties has been arrested in Osaka, Japan on suspicion of distributing infringing copies of films after using artificial intelligence to colorize black-and-white movies such as the original 1954 Godzilla and selling them without permission.
According to police sources, the Osaka Prefectural Police charged Ippei Miyamoto (66), a part-time worker from Toyonaka City on June 16 with violating the Copyright Act by selling pirated DVDs. In November 2024, he allegedly listed colorized versions of Toho’s Godzilla on flea-market apps after purchasing unauthorized black-and-white copies. A buyer who received one of the DVDs alerted police.
Investigators say he used overseas AI software to apply color to classic films and advertised the products as “AI colorized.” In addition to Godzilla, Miyamoto’s site was selling a wide range of colorized classic black-and-white films, promoted as “silver screen cinema converted to color (for titles with expired copyright protection).”
Similar DVDs were also found listed on multiple flea market websites, falsely advertised as “legal” and priced between 3,000 and 30,000 yen each. Police confirmed the suspect earned about 1.7 million yen (approximately $10,800) in profits between January of last year and May of this year.
Under Japanese law, most films remain under copyright protection for 70 years from their release date. Older works may be covered by the previous rule of 38 years after the author’s death. The 1954 Godzilla remained protected at the time of the alleged sales.
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I was hoping he was arrested for aesthetic crimes, not copyright violation…