Russian platforms with Asian comics are facing pressure from two sides at once

Russian platforms with Asian comics have faced pressure from two sides at once – from domestic and South Korean regulators. On the one hand, the State South Korean Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), together with the Moi Comics platform, is preparing a lawsuit against the Russian-language ReManga for violation of intellectual rights. On the other hand, Roskomnadzor has been blocking MangaHub for LGBT propaganda since September 18. Book market participants emphasize that the bulk of the content in this segment remains pirated. Platforms remove content at the request of copyright holders, but it immediately appears on new platforms.

KOCCA, together with Moi Comics (the first official Korean platform with Asian comics, was launched on November 11, 2022 by the Korean company MStoryLink) are preparing a lawsuit against ReManga, a Russian-language platform for Asian manga, the agency told Kommersant.

According to KOCCA representative in Russia Kim Si-woo, Moi Comics sent letters to a number of platforms last year asking them to remove unlicensed comics. “Most have removed the names, but ReManga is still ignoring the letter, undermining the activities of Moi Comics in Russia,” Kim Si-Woo clarified.

According to him, KOSSA “understands that piracy is a natural step in the formation of a market” for intellectual rights. “But we must consider the long-term prospects for the development of the Korean creative industry in Russia, and without intellectual property protection this is impossible,” emphasized Kim Si-Woo. ReManga did not respond to Kommersant’s request.

Meanwhile, Internet platforms with Asian comics began to raise questions not only among copyright holders, but also among regulators. Thus, on September 18, Roskomnadzor blocked one of the large resources – MangaHub, the service told Kommersant.

The portal identified materials “containing propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships or preferences,” Roskomnadzor explained. A demand was sent to the hosting provider regarding the need to immediately remove the identified prohibited materials, but measures were never taken, the service says.

Representatives of MangaHub in the official VKontakte community said in a statement on September 22 that they would launch a new site, since “the old one will remain blocked forever.” “Over the weekend, BL (boys love) / GL (girls love) content will disappear from the main domain and will subsequently appear on a separate domain (website),” the message says.

Other platforms followed a similar pattern: MangaLib and ReadManga. After the ban on LGBT propaganda was introduced, resources created separate sites to which manga about homosexual relationships was transferred. These sites were subsequently blocked and are now accessible through VPN services.

Asian comics seem to be one of the development points of the book market, they say in large publishing houses. Among the popular sites of Russian-speaking communities are MangaLib, ReadManga, ReManga, Kommersant’s interlocutor on the book market clarifies.

As stated on the ReManga website, the platform receives its main income in the form of commissions from paid comic book chapters (placed under an agreement with the copyright holders). There are also advertising blocks on the site. On MangaLib you can also find both paid works and advertising.

The sites say they do not infringe copyright. However, market participants claim that this happens. “Today this part of the market is in a gray area: yes, of course, when a message is received from the copyright holder or license buyer, the graphic work is removed from the platform, but after some time it may appear in one of the VKontakte fan communities or on another platform,” explains Kommersant’s interlocutor.

Moreover, often the owners of Russian-language platforms with manga themselves are not able to estimate the volume of downloaded unlicensed content.

The fact is, explains Kommersant’s interlocutor, who translates manga, that comics are often uploaded to Russian-language platforms not by resource administrators, but by the users themselves: “They go to pirated English-language resources where scans of comics are published, upload them, translate them, and then uploaded to Russian-language platforms.”

Despite the special procedure for settlements with copyright holders from unfriendly countries, there are no restrictions in the protection and defense of their exclusive rights, emphasizes Vladimir Ozherelyev, head of the intellectual property practice at DRC. According to him, decisions to refuse protection of rights due to the registration of the copyright holder in an unfriendly state “are an exception.”

The question of hostility has long since disappeared – the courts have repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that the copyright holder has grounds to protect his rights, confirms intellectual property lawyer, author of the Telegram channel “Calculate by IP” Anastasia Skovpen.

At the same time, Ms. Skovpen clarifies, even if ReManga positions itself as an information intermediary, after receiving the complaint they were obliged to remove the controversial materials. The fact that content is uploaded by users does not relieve one from the obligation to remove the content, agrees Mr. Ozherelyev, but also “does not give grounds to demand payment of compensation.”

Yulia Yurasova