CODA has agreed to provide information about pirate sites to the “WIPO Alert Information Sharing Platform” (hereafter WIPO Alert), which is developed and managed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). On September 23, CODA and WIPO formally signed an agreement. This marks the first case in which a private organization has been permitted to participate in WIPO’s efforts.
The WIPO Alert aims to address the issue of advertisements on pirate sites within an international framework. CODA participated online in a meeting of WIPO Alert stakeholders held in Geneva in December 2018. At that time, due to the lack of an international legal definition of pirate sites, practical challenges such as determining which pirate sites should be deemed “malicious” and included in the WIPO Alert, as well as how the information would be managed and operated, led to trial operations in only a few countries.
Since then, the WIPO Alert has been improved through discussions among stakeholders, making it easier to manage pirate site information to suit the needs of both information providers and users.
At a stakeholders’ meeting held in December 2019, CODA shared information on how the “Watchlist for Pirate Sites (Blacklist),” created by CODA and advertising organizations as part of Japan’s anti-piracy measures, is managed. This example of transparency in criteria for identifying malicious pirate sites led WIPO to request CODA’s participation in WIPO Alert and the provision of the list.
While countries such as Italy, South Korea, Brazil, Spain, Russia, and Ukraine provide information to the WIPO Alert, these efforts are generally led by national governments. CODA is the first private organization in the world to provide such information. WIPO is currently continuing discussions with countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America regarding participation in this initiative. CODA will continue to contribute by providing information to the WIPO Alert, supporting this global-level anti-piracy effort.
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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.