Japan-based anti-piracy group CODA(Content Overseas Distribution Association) announced on Jan 4, 2022, that they are setting up the International Anti-Piracy Organization (IAPO) by April 2022. The organization will be dedicated to tackling illegal online distribution of anime, manga, and similar copyrighted content.

According to information provided to Nikkei, copyright protection organizations from about 13 nations will join forces to form the international body aimed at combating piracy worldwide.

At the heart of IAPO will sit the CODA, along with the US Motion Picture Association (MPA), South Korea’s Korea Copyright Protection Agency (KCOPA), China’s China Copyright Association, and ASEAN countries.

Additionally, IAPO will consist of 32 local companies including publisher Kodansha, Hollywood studios plus Netflix, and around 450 companies in China.

Director Masaharu Ina of CODA, commented on the coalition to Torrent Freak as, “Our plan is to start the new organization in or around April this year and share the information on piracy sites compiled in each country and provide same to the police of the country where the servers are located for example.”

Because pirated content is frequently hosted on overseas servers, law enforcement agencies must enlist the help of international partners to forward their investigations.

Such frameworks exist through Interpol. But “the police don’t actively investigate piracy in many countries,” especially in those less affected by the crime, CODA said.

To combat piracy, members of the new organization will share information gathered on websites distributing unlawful content with local authorities. When investigations do not prove effective, the publishers’ organization will encourage governments to take action.

At the time of writing, CODA has 32 members including manga and anime giants Aniplex, Kadokawa, Kodansha, Shueisha, Shogakukan, and Toei. The MPA has six members including Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros.

The China Copyright Association represents 450 local content companies. Overall, copyright protection groups from 13 countries including South Korea and Vietnam are expected to participate.

This is latest in a slew of moves that were made in order to tackle the issue of rising piracy. Despite sites like Mangamura shutting down, ABJ group recently reported that the monthly visits of the top 3 pirate manga sites increased 26 times during the pandemic compared to 2020.

Last year, CODA member Shueisha requested help from a US court in order to track down the operator of Mangabank, a giant manga site that in the wake of the move shut down its operations.

Source: CODA, Torrent Freak, Nikkei