AnimeSuki is a website

Website

A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...

 and "... the largest database of BitTorrent anime shows" that focuses on providing unlicensed anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 fansub

Fansub

A fansub is a version of a foreign film or foreign television program which has been translated by fans and subtitled into a language other than that of the original.-History:...

s using the BitTorrent peer-to-peer

Peer-to-peer

Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...

 system. The website was created by GHDpro on December 26, 2002. Animesuki is not a tracker

BitTorrent tracker

A BitTorrent tracker is a server that assists in the communication between peers using the BitTorrent protocol. It is also, in the absence of extensions to the original protocol, the only major critical point, as clients are required to communicate with the tracker to initiate downloads...

; instead, it provides links to many trackers across the web. It does not list pornography

Pornography

Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...

 or series that have been licensed in North America.

Copyright controversy

The site only links to anime that has not been licensed by any American companies. Once a title is licensed, the corresponding fansub links are removed from the site and the series is listed on its licensed list. Nonetheless, although none of the files are hosted on the site itself, AnimeSuki could be held accountable for violating copyright law, as linking to sites that themselves infringe on the law has been considered a form of contributory infringement

Contributory infringement

Contributory infringement may refer to:* contributory patent infringement* contributory copyright infringement...

 in the United States (Intellectual Reserve v. Utah Lighthouse Ministry

Intellectual Reserve v. Utah Lighthouse Ministry

Intellectual Reserve v. Utah Lighthouse Ministry was a United States district court decision on the subject of deep linking and contributory infringement of copyright.- Background :...

).

Though fansubs are technically copyright violations, AnimeSuki's legal page alleges that the WTO

World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...

 TRIPS Agreement

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members...

 specifies that the distribution of copyrighted material is only necessarily illegal when done on a commercial scale, thus making it difficult for anyone besides the copyright holder to prosecute fansubbers. To date, only one Japanese company, Media Factory

Media Factory

is a Japanese publisher. It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd...

, has requested its content removed from the site. However, Funimation and Kadokawa Pictures USA

Kadokawa Pictures

is a Japanese movie studio.-History:One of the most famous studios in Japan and founded in 1942 as , it is best known for having produced the giant monster Gamera film series and the Daimajin Trilogy. It also produced the Zatoichi and Nemuri Kyoshiro film series and the television series Shōnen Jet...

 have also sent them separate cease and desist letters concerning several titles, which were promptly removed. In Singapore, Odex has specifically singled out AnimeSuki as a source to target its downloaders with legal action.

AnimeSuki is also known for erring on the side of caution regarding licenses. Even though some series such as Hanaukyo Maids were not initially licensed, AnimeSuki kept them from being listed because of the likelihood that Geneon would secure the rights to it.