Most sellers upload images as part of their listings. Under this law, if Yahoo! Auctions is to be accessible in the EU, they need to install software to filter all uploads for infringing content (which is determined by a central database akin to YouTube’s ContentID system).
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What images are intended to be blocked?
Cover artwork is typically copyrighted, so record labels, artists, photographers, illustrators, etc. could and would add those images to the database and auction sites would be required to block any (perceived) duplicates from being uploaded.
I just noticed CDJapan (via Japan Post) is no longer offering shipping to the UK or much of Europe. Can any users located in Europe verify if their website is still accessible? If it is, that may confirm my suspicions that this is about the upload filter law. All of CDJapan’s cover art is supplied by the manufacturers, so they don’t have to worry about user uploads like Yahoo! Auctions does. (I’m not so sure about their proxy shopping service, though…)
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This is coming to the US too, unless greater minds prevail:
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Works fine from DE. Besides, the shipping restrictions have other reasons:
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2022/0308_01_en.html
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The photos are required on second hand stuff, to check the status of the stuff and decide if we buy or not.
We still have second hand stuff internet shops inside France, it doesn’t seem they have troubles with photos. At least not yet, maybe.
See also EBay. Which operates in Europe. A photo of an item for sale would not go under a copyright flag. Unless the EU has gone even more bonkers than the past. I can’t see anything in that news article that would stop you from selling stuff.
May be time to grab a VPN to access the Japanese sites.
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A couple of thoughts:
An image of an item being offered for sale would seem to be protected as “fair use” of (copyrighted) coverart.
VPNs are used to bypass geo-restrictions.
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VPN always sounds so simple but it was never simple each time I tried.
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They’re pretty simple, I’m not trying to shill for the companies (Sign up to Surf Shark VPN and get 10% off with the discount code sound.and.vision.is.a.corporate.shill), but most of them are just simple Windows/Apple applications that you go in and press an “on” button and it just works.
In other news, Buyee still seems to work as a way to look at those websites without a VPN service:
https://buyee.jp/yahoo/shopping
This post was sponsored by SurfShark VPN™ /s
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Oh yes indeed, yahuoku still works through buyee!
I’ve already used this service and also tensō tenso.com by the same company, they are quite cool.
Tensō is convenient to gather several stuff into a single package.
Buyee is nice to open lots of auctions that require an account with a good history (good ratings, high rank), otherwise.
But for my MB need of checking packaging information for releases, it’s now less direct. 
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Indeed, not to drift off topic too much but Tenso is very well worth it and opens you up to the wonderfully dangerous world of Rakuten.co.jp
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It was not difficult but, just in case it helps others, here are my new mercari search shortcuts for my browser.
The first one is too broad, you can ignore it.
The three others are sub-categories of the first one.
- mercari (cultural goods, including books, music and games)
- keyword:
me - URL:
https://jp.mercari.com/search?keyword=%s&t1_category_id=5&category_id=5
- keyword:
- mercari (CD)
- keyword:
mec - URL:
https://jp.mercari.com/search?keyword=%s&t1_category_id=5&category_id=75
- keyword:
- mercari (videos)
- keyword:
mev - URL:
https://jp.mercari.com/search?keyword=%s&t1_category_id=5&category_id=74
- keyword:
- mercari (analog / vinyl)
- keyword:
mea - URL:
https://jp.mercari.com/search?keyword=%s&t1_category_id=5&category_id=1160
- keyword:
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Ooh thats cool - I actually thought Mercari was super duper geoblocked, maybe i went via the wrong URL as always had to browse it via a proxy seller
FWIW, here’s a tool to preview a website from different countries: Geo Browse | Free Country Screenshot Tool.
It could be used to check geoblock and maybe bypass that, though it only provides a screenshot.
Ironically it’s also a website providing geoblock services.
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I have finally written a very simple user script that redirects you from Yahoo! JAPAN Auctions page to Buyee proxy equivalent page:
yahuoku_REDIRECT-TO-BUYEE.user.js (install with Raw button, hidden in “…” menu on mobile)
location.assign(location.pathname.replace(/^\/jp/, "https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/"));
You should of course only install this script if you are geo-blocked (as me, in Europe).
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It’s not just Yahoo auctions, it’s all Yahoo Japan sites. (Although they actually shut down the Geocities equivalent pretty recently.)
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Yes indeed, but I only use https://mail.yahoo.co.jp (which is still open to us) and Auctions (for their photos):
- Search: ajico site:auctions.yahoo.co.jp at DuckDuckGo
Vivaldi custom search ヤフオク！ (aliasyo):https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%s+site%3Aauctions.yahoo.co.jp%2Fjp%2Fauction%2F&kp=1&t=vivaldi&iax=images&ia=images - Bypass blocking: yahuoku_REDIRECT-TO-BUYEE.user.js
I don’t need Yahoo! News or anything else.
And that’s pretty recent, indeed, to me too.
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