On February 11, 2025, the Public Security Bureau of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, arrested a man from Liaoning Province, China, on suspicion of copyright infringement for operating the pirated website “ZzzFun” (zzzfun.one) and an Android smartphone app of the same name, which distributed Japanese anime and other content to Chinese domestic users.
Through a search of the suspect’s home conducted on October 15, 2024, and subsequent interrogations, authorities discovered that since 2022, the man had been operating the pirated website “ZzzFun” and its app without authorization from rights holders, distributing a large volume of Japanese anime and other content. He also used the website to direct users to the app. Furthermore, he had illegally uploaded approximately 1,800 episodes of Japanese anime to both the website and the app without permission from the rights holders. It was also confirmed that, through the operation of “ZzzFun,” the suspect had illicitly earned approximately 330,000 yuan (about 7 million yen, as of February 2025) in advertising revenue before his arrest.
This case was initiated after CODA’s Beijing office filed a criminal complaint with the Public Security Bureau on behalf of Japanese rights holders in May 2024. The request to pursue criminal action was made by a total of 13 companies: Aniplex Inc., KADOKAWA CORPORATION, King Record Co., Ltd., KODANSHA LTD., SHOGAKUKAN Inc., SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD., TV TOKYO Corporation, TOEI ANIMATION CO., LTD., TOHO CO., LTD., NIKKATSU CORPORATION, Happinet Phantom Studios Co., Ltd., Fuji Television Network, Inc., PONY CANYON INC.
For the criminal complaint, each rights holder cooperated by using CODA’s Rights Inquiry Database*, which has been in operation since March 2023, to verify the damages caused by “ZzzFun” and support the legal proceedings.
In recent years, online piracy cases that target local audiences in foreign countries rather than Japanese users—so-called “overseas-originated and overseas-targeted” piracy—have been increasingly recognized as a growing issue. Japan’s Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters has identified this issue as an urgent priority in its “Intellectual Property Promotion Plan 2024”, emphasizing the importance of addressing it.
Thanks to the swift investigation by the Hebei Public Security Bureau, the operator was quickly identified and subsequently arrested. CODA, in cooperation with its member companies that have suffered damages, will continue to closely monitor the case, including developments in further investigations and the criminal trial, and will seek strict criminal punishment for the suspect.
*The CODA Rights Inquiry Database is a system designed to enable accurate and rapid responses to investigation requests from the Chinese Public Security Bureau and other authorities by confirming whether CODA member content has been infringed in China, as well as checking ownership and authorization status of the content.
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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.