A man who operated ZzzFun, a piracy website which distributed Japanese anime and other content to users in China without authorisation, as well as a smartphone app of the same name, was arrested in February 2025, by the Public Security Bureau of Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province. On November 18th 2025, the Yuhua District People’s Court of Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province sentenced him to one year in prison and imposed a fine of RMB 35,000 (approximately €4,276) for copyright infringement. The judgement became final following the expiration of the appeal period.

In court, the defendant fully admitted to the charges and gave a statement regarding his criminal conduct, expressing remorse. The court also found that, without obtaining authorization from the copyright holders, he had distributed a large volume of Japanese anime and other works on ZzzFun and the app of the same name, directed users from the website to the app, and received advertising revenue through the app.

This case originated in May 2024, when CODA’s Beijing Office filed a criminal complaint with the Public Security Bureau of Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province on behalf of Japanese rights holders, leading to the arrest. In preparing the criminal complaint, the respective rights holders cooperated in the investigation by using CODA’s Rights Inquiry Database, operated by CODA since March 2023, to confirm damages involving the vast number of infringing works made available on ZzzFun, thereby supporting efforts to apprehend the operator.

Although the court took into consideration the defendant’s full admission of guilt and expression of remorse, it did not grant a suspended sentence. As a result, a prison sentence was finalised.

CODA expects that this arrest and conviction will serve as a warning against the operation of malicious piracy websites and lead to the suppression of similar activities. Takero Goto, Representative Director of CODA, commented: “With support from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, CODA will continue its efforts to address the growing global challenge of online infringement. Even when operators are based overseas, CODA will cooperate with relevant authorities abroad in advancing anti-piracy measures and working toward reducing the unauthorized use of Japanese content.”

This activity was part of a project commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Other posts by :

1. Bank: AST SpaceMobile will orbit 356 satellites by 2030
2. SpaceX launches 600th rocket
3. Starlink: 10m customers and counting
4. SES predicts end of ‘big’ Geo satellites
5. Amazon Leo gets approval for 4,504 extra satellites
6. SpaceX gets a portion of India
7. TerreStar wants to build LEO network
8. Musk: “No Starlink phone”
9. Russia accused of eavesdropping on satellites

Categories: Articles, Piracy, Policy, Regulation

Tags: ainme, coda, japan, piracy