Jul 26, 2024 09:00:00

Japan-based anti-piracy group seeing big results in crackdown in China

Measures against pirated content suspected of copyright infringement are being implemented, such as issuing injunctions on domains and preventing them from appearing in Google search results. However, there are also some difficult aspects to countermeasures, such as the fact that

blocking alone can be avoided by changing the domain to a new one, and it is difficult to take criminal action against sites operated in other countries. Meanwhile, TorrentFreak, which covers topics related to piracy and copyright, reports that a Japan-based anti-piracy organization has been making progress in regulating sites operated in China.

China's Pirate Site Crackdown is Real & Assisted By Anime Anti-Piracy Group * TorrentFreak
https://torrentfreak.com/chinas-pirate-site-crackdown-is-real-assisted-by-anime-anti-piracy-group-240717/

A study released by MUSO , which tracks piracy, in collaboration with a consulting firm, showed that the number of visits to pirate sites worldwide in 2023 will exceed 141 billion. Canada, Sweden, Hong Kong, and Qatar were noted as 'hotspots' with a large number of visitors to pirate sites, with the number of visitors increasing significantly in recent years, and India was cited as a 'growth market for piracy' with a significantly higher rate of increase in recent years.

Access to pirated movies and TV shows will exceed 141 billion in 2023, Japan is showing signs of improvement - GIGAZINE

Apart from MUSO's research, another hotbed of piracy activity is China, where copyright holders based outside of China have a theory that intellectual property infringement is a problem that should be resolved by those who complain about infringement within their own territory, making it extremely difficult for them to deal with pirates within China.

The Japan-based anti-piracy group Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) was established in 2002 with the goal of promoting the overseas expansion of Japanese content and combating piracy. By repeatedly lobbying Chinese authorities, who are reluctant to accept complaints from overseas groups, CODA has succeeded in bringing criminal charges against the operator of B9Good, a major anime piracy website.

According to CODA, their efforts against B9Good began around 2016. As a result of filing an administrative complaint at that time, the site operator made it appear as if the site was closed from Japan due to

geoblocking measures that prevent users from accessing the site based on their geographic location, and continued to operate the site.

CODA then established the 'CODA Beijing Office' in China, an NGO recognized as a legitimate rights protector, including anime rights holders such as Aniplex, TV Tokyo, Toei Animation, Toho, and NHK. As a result of filing a criminal complaint with the Public Security Bureau from within the country, Chinese law enforcement agencies began rounding up B9Good operators from February 14, 2023, leading to seizure and site closure. As a result, as of March 2024, the guilty verdict of the B9Good operator has been finalized. CODA stated in a statement regarding the series of activities, 'This is the first time that criminal penalties have been imposed on the operators and uploaders of overseas pirate sites as a result of efforts from Japan (CODA). CODA hopes that this crackdown and sentencing of such malicious sites will have a significant impact on deterring the operation of similar pirate sites.'

CODA also revealed that it won two new piracy streaming lawsuits on July 16, 2024. These services offered mainstream movies and TV shows owned by companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other countries, as well as more than 30,000 anime titles. Both were piracy sites operated in China, and CODA's Beijing office filed criminal complaints of copyright infringement with the Public Security Bureau of Jiangsu Province, China. CODA reports that the Public Security Bureau's investigation was swift, and the operators' identities were identified and arrested in a short period of time.

In response to CODA's criminal prosecution and the Public Security Bureau's investigation, TorrentFreak points out that 'China has traditionally been perceived as being lax in its response to copyright infringement, but Chinese authorities have been quite swift in arresting operators of pirate sites and appear to be actively cracking down on piracy. China may file more prosecutions than the U.S. from 2023 to 2024.'