In the last decade, as the prominence of Japanese popular culture has increased, it is not surprising in the slightest that certain legal issues surrounding this area have arisen as well. The primary one among them is pervasive illegal copying and unauthorized distribution of manga and anime, both in Japan and in the U.S. This has led to several examinations of Japanese and American copyright law, and to discussions of fair use and moral rights specifically with regard to anime and manga appearing in law reviews with increasing frequency. Other related topics that have been addressed by legal scholars include a case where charges were brought against a comic-shop owner for selling an issue of a pornographic manga to an adult customer, the legal status of anime music videos, and the controversy surrounding a Japanese lawsuit against a book-length critique of a right-wing manga.

This list was assembled by the author starting in 2008 primarily via Westlaw and Lexis searches, using keywords 'manga' and 'anime'. Its particular importance to anime and manga scholars rests in the fact that others working in this subject area are frequently only familiar with the literature of the humanities, liberal arts, and area studies. Major multidisciplinary databases, such as Academic Search Premier, the MLA International Bibliography, the Film Studies Index and the Bibliography of Asian Studies cover a significant percentage of the current literature on anime and manga, but by no means the totality of it. Gaps in their coverage are particularly prominent in the fields of business and the law.

The scope of the list is limited to articles in law reviews and peer-reviewed legal journals published in English, whether in paper format, or online only. Several of the articles listed were written by professors, while the authors of others were law students. Each features a discussion of anime/manga related topics in some detail in the main body of the article. Several dozen others that either mention these themes in passing, in footnotes only, or themselves cite one of these have been excluded. Entries are arranged in reverse chronological order, from the most recent to the earliest. At this point, all citations are in APA style, rather than Bluebook, since the target audience of this document will be scholars of the humanities and popular culture, rather than of the law.

Note (10/2009). The last two years saw two particular cases in the U.S. that may eventually be covered significantly in the literature of anime and manga studies. In the first, U.S. v. Whorley, 550 F.3d 326 (2008), a defendant was found guilty of child pornography charges for, among other things, downloading anime-style images that appeared to depict underaged characters engaging in sexual behavior with adults. In the second, U.S. v. Handley, 565 F.Supp.2d 996 (2008), the defendant was charged with the same crimes after receiving actual manga volumes containing child pornography images. Several of the charges were dismissed, but ultimately, Handley pled guilty to one count each of 'possession of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children' and 'mailing obscene matter.'

Anime and manga in English-language legal literature, 2002-current
(Last update: 3.9.2010)

Noda, N. (2010). Copyright retold: How interpretive rights foster creativity and justify fan-based activities. Seton Hall Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, 20, 131-163.

Zangellini, A. (2009). Underage Sex and Romance in Japanese Homoerotic Manga and Anime. Social & Legal Studies, 18, 159-177.

Daniels, J. (2008). "Lost in translaton": Anime, moral rights, and market failure. Boston University Law Review, 88, 709-744.

Noda, N. (2008). When holding on means letting go: Why fair use should extend to fan-based activities. University of Denver Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, 5, 64-104.

Trombley, S. (2007). Visions and revisions: Fanvids and fair use. Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal, 25, 647-685.

Lambert, K. (2006). Unflagging television piracy: How piracy of Japanese television programming in East Asia portends failure for a U.S. broadcast flag. Texas Law Review, 84, 1317-1746.

Muscar, J. (2006). A winner is who? Fair use and the online distribution of manga and videogame fan translations. Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, 9, 223-254

Port, K. (2006). Trademark dilution in Japan. Northwestern Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property, 4, 228-254.

Greene, D. (2005). The need for expert testimony to prove lack of serious artistic value in obscenity cases. Nexus: A Journal of Opinion, 10, 171-178.

Hatcher, J. (2005). Of otakus and fansubs: A critical look at anime online in light of current issues in copyright law. SCRIPTed: A Journal of Law, Technology & Society, 2, 514-542.

Leonard, S. (2005). Celebrating two decades of unlawful progress: Fan distribution, proselytization commons, and the explosive growth of Japanese animation. UCLA Entertainment Law Review, 12, 189-264.

McLelland, M. (2005). The world of yaoi: The internet, censorship and the global "boys’ love" fandom. The Australian Feminist Law Journal, 23, 61-77.

Dulh, G. (2004). Old lyrics, knock-off videos, and copycat comic books: The fourth fair use factor in U.S. copyright law. Syracuse Law Review, 54, 665-737.

Lessig, L. (2004). The creative commons. Montana Law Review, 65, 1-13.

Kirkpatrick, S. (2003). Like holding a bird: What the prevalence of fansubbing can teach us about the use of strategic selective copyright enforcement. Temple Environmental Law and Technology Journal, 21, 131-153.

Mehra, S. (2003). Copyright, control and comics: Japanese battles over downstream limits on content. Rutgers Law Review, 56, 181-230.

Mehra, S. (2002). Copyright and comics in Japan: Does law explain why all the cartoons my kid watches are Japanese imports? Rutgers Law Review, 55, 155-204.