The Public Security Bureau of China’s Jiangsu Province conducted a roundup from January to June 2024, arresting 13 people, including the operator, on suspicion of violating copyright laws for two incidents of creating unlicensed subscription-like websites in the form of abusing legal streaming services and selling account information to view the videos in the library,
This roundup was carried out after CODA’s Beijing office filed criminal complaints with the Public Security Bureau on behalf of Japanese right holders in December 2023 and April 2024, respectively, regarding the two crimes. This is the first time that the operator of such an unlicensed subscription-like websites overseas has been exposed through a complaint from Japan (CODA).
In addition, both of the two unlicensed subscription-like websites were operated in China for the local Chinese audience, not for the Japanese audience, and were online infringements “From and for overseas” that have been becoming more and more apparent in recent years. The “From and for Overseas” pirate sites are considered an urgent and important issue in the “Intellectual Property Promotion Plan 2024” released by the Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters of the Japanese Cabinet on June 4, 2024.
In the first case, on January 8, 2024, the Public Security Bureau of Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, dispatched 54 agents and other personnel to Chongqing, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanghai, Hebei, and Anhui Provinces to conduct simultaneous raids against several suspects in various locations. The raid revealed the establishment and operation of “SHEN LAN,” a subscription-like websites that duplicates large amounts of Japanese content, primarily anime, without the rights holders’ permission, uploads it to a personal media server, a legal service, and allows streaming playback from a variety of devices. As a result of the investigation, a total of 10 people were arrested on suspicion of copyright infringement, including the main offender, a 36-year-old male resident of Chongqing City, A, who operated “SHEN LAN” and sold account information for accessing “SHEN LAN” from the website and application through a website he operated.
In addition, 9 laptops, 2 desktop computers, 2 servers, 11 cell phones, and multiple storage devices were seized during the raid, and all data on the servers were preserved as evidence after obtaining the management accounts and passwords for “SHEN LAN”.
Another suspect was arrested in Hubei Province on January 24, bringing the total number of those arrested for their alleged involvement in the operation of “SHEN LAN” to 11.
According to the investigation by the Public Security Bureau, “SHEN LAN” can stream more than 10,000 movies, animations, TV dramas, documentaries, concerts, and other contents from Japan, the U.S., the U.K., France, and other countries, and for anime works, which were the most frequently infringed Japanese contents, it has been confirmed that As of December 2023, 1,008 works (21,981 episodes) have been confirmed to be available.
“SHEN LAN” was established in January 2021 by Male A, who then conspired with men and women he met on the Internet to divide the roles of technology, maintenance, uploading, account sales, and customer service, and operated the site until his arrest in January 2024. Account information was sold for between 98 yuan (approximately 1,960 yen) and 1,068 yuan (approximately 21,360 yen) per sign-in, depending on the length of term available for viewing, picture quality, etc. The revenue unjustly obtained through the operation of “SHEN LAN” was found to be worth 5 million yuan (approximately 109 million yen).
In the second case, on June 5, 2024, based on the testimony of “SHEN LAN” suspect Male A, the Public Security Bureau of Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, dispatched 11 investigators and cybersecurity experts to the homes and workplaces of the suspect brothers in the second case to search their homes. A raid revealed that unlicensed subscription-like websites “COCO” was established and operated by the same method as “SHEN LAN” by copying a large amount of Japanese content such as movies and TV dramas, mainly anime, without permission of the rights holders. As a result of the investigation, two brothers, male B (44) and male C (46), both residents of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, were arrested on suspicion of copyright infringement for operating “COCO” and selling account information to access “COCO” from their own website or another e-commerce site. The sale of the accounts also followed the same modus operandi as that of “SHEN LAN”.
During the raid, PCs, server equipment, etc. were seized, and all data on the server was preserved as evidence by obtaining “COCO” management accounts and passwords.
An investigation by the Public Security Bureau revealed that more than 100,000 episodes of content were available for streaming playback on “COCO,” and that in terms of Japanese content, approximately 20,000 episodes of anime and other movies and TV dramas were posted on the site. COCO was established in May 2021 by Male B, who was responsible for the main operation and maintenance of the site, and in December 2023 he brought his brother, Male C, on board, who operated the site until his arrest in June 2024. The unjustified income from the operation of “COCO” was found to be more than 4 million yuan (approx. 86.7 million yen).
The prompt investigation by the public security bureaus of Taizhou and Yangzhou resulted in the identification of the operator and the arrest of the suspect in a short period of time.
CODA will respond in cooperation with the affected right holders, CODA member companies. We will also actively cooperate with the Public Security Bureau in future investigations, under the leadership of CODA’s Beijing Office. We will also closely monitor the details of the case that will be revealed in the criminal trial after the indictment and seek severe criminal penalties.
(translated by automatic translation system.)
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About CODA
CODA (Content Overseas Distribution Association) was established in 2002 at the call of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Agency for Cultural Affairs to promote the overseas development of Japanese content and take anti-piracy measures. Japan’s proud content, including music, movies, anime, broadcast programs, video games, and publishing, plays an important role in enhancing the nation’s international presence and economic growth. As digital technology becomes more widespread, it is even more significant to protect Japan’s content from increasingly artful copyright infringement and promote the content industry’s development. CODA contributes to the deterrence and detection of online and other piracy, by sharing knowledge with relevant government agencies, organizations, and companies in Japan and abroad, to engage in direct and indirect anti-piracy measures, as well as public relations activities. Visit https://coda-cj.jp/en/activity/ for more information on CODA’s projects.