CODA received information, that the Taiwan Taichung District Prosecutors Office, the Taiwan Tainan District Prosecutors Office, and the Intellectual Property Rights Investigation Corps of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) conducted raids on September 6 and October 29, 2024. The raids targeted locations in Taiping District, Taichung City; Anping District, Tainan City; and Zhubei City, Hsinchu County, where operators were managing websites that posted methods for downloading illegal apps or provided links to such articles.
These apps allegedly allowed users to access broadcast programs from Japan and other countries without proper authorization from the rights holders. As a result, three suspects were arrested. Following this operation, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) held a press conference related to the case on December 3, 2024.
During the raids, authorities seized 53 articles related to illegal apps, 25 types of illegal apps, two USB drives, one iPad, one mobile phone, one memory card, and electronic records related to violations of the Copyright Act. These records included lists of posted articles and WeChat screenshots.
According to the investigation, these apps disguised themselves as legitimate, unrelated applications to pass Apple’s App Store review process. However, they were programmed to switch into apps that could stream pirated content when users entered specific keywords or commands. The suspects posted articles on their websites directing users to download these apps. They also promoted the websites through two well-known influencers, each with over 400,000 followers, to attract significant traffic and generate advertising revenue.
The total number of views for the articles published exceeded 550,000. Among the illegal apps were hundreds of unauthorized films, TV dramas, anime, variety shows, and documentaries. The damages are estimated to exceed 600 million New Taiwan Dollars (approximately 2.8 billion yen as of December 3).
In response to this case, the police have urged the public to use verified and safe services and refrain from participating in activities that violate copyright laws.
This operation was conducted as part of a project commissioned by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.
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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.