Tokyo, 21 April, /AJMEDIA/
Authorities in Brazil have taken down 36 websites hosting pirated Japanese anime for people living in the country, according to a Tokyo-based anti-piracy group.
The Content Overseas Distribution Association said Thursday it was the first time that foreign sites hosting pirated Japanese anime for local viewing have been taken down after its member Japanese animation companies filed criminal complaints.
In March this year, the association, which seeks to thwart copyright infringement of Japanese media content, said Chinese authorities had taken down a major website based in the country that was hosting pirated Japanese anime for people living in Japan.
The authorities in Brazil first examined the operators of four websites, following criminal complaints filed last year by Toei Animation Co., Toho Co. and Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc., all members of the association.
The websites as well as nine related sites were shut down. Through negotiations with the operators of other pirate websites, an additional 18 sites were closed down, while five were voluntarily shuttered, according to the association.
The 36 sites were accessed around 83 million times on average per month between December last year and February, it said.
