Pirate Anime Site
Chinese authorities have arrested the operator of the largest pirate site for Japanese anime targeting Japan, which is based locally in Jiangsu Province, and shut down the site. This comes after a criminal complaint was filed by a Japanese organization, marking the first time a pirate site has been cracked down on in China.
The pirate site in question is B9GOOD, according to the Content Overseas Distribution Promotion Organization (CODA), which includes Japanese anime companies. The site has been operating under a different name since 2008 and was accessed over 300 million times between March 2021 and February 2022. CODA views this crackdown as a "very significant event."
The public security authorities in Jiangsu Province detained a 33-year-old man from Chongqing on February 14 who is suspected of being involved in the operation of the site. He was interrogated and released on bail on February 19th. It is believed that he made a profit of between 120 million and 140 million JPY.
In addition, three men and women in their 30s living in China who were involved in uploading content for payment were also arrested. The site was shut down on the 27 of this month.
Access to B9GOOD was dominated by Japan, accounting for about 95% of its total access. The crackdown on this pirate site is a significant step towards protecting intellectual property rights and combating piracy in China.
Source: Yahoo Japan