On February 11, 2025, the Public Security Bureau of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, arrested the 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.
The suspect was accused of illegally uploading about 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.
The suspect’s home had been searched on October 15, 2024, and in subsequent interrogations, authorities discovered that the man had been operating the pirated website “ZzzFun” and its app without authorization from rights holders since 2022, distributing a large volume of Japanese anime and other content. He also used the website to direct users to an infringing Android app.
CODA piracy detection tool
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.
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.
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.
The outcome so far
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.
Original press release
Operator of pirated Japanese anime site and app “ZzzFun” arredted in China – First criminal crackdown in Hebei Province. Press release. March 6, 2025. Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA)
Why it matters
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.
