Kommersant: the number of pirated copies of shonen, manhua and manhwa manga has increased in Russia
IN Russia there has been an increased interest in Asian comics. The situation has led to the development of hacking schemes in this segment. On this subject writing “Kommersant” with reference to book market players and marketplaces.
Komilfo (a division of Eksmo-AST) told reporters that the demand for such publications in February increased by 200% in annual terms. The leading positions in the segment are traditionally occupied by Japanese shounen manga, and the popularity of the Chinese version of manhua and the Korean version of manhwa is also increasing.
The trend is confirmed by representatives of marketplaces: Yandex.Market reported that in the first quarter of 2023, sales of Asian comics on the site increased 20 times in annual terms.
The article says that pirates buy copies in Asia or simply download online versions of comics, provide them with translations from amateur groups on the Internet. Then pirates print comics in short runs and sell them through marketplaces and classifieds (Avito, Wildberries) or social media communities under the guise of not new, but used goods. At the same time, no license agreements are concluded with foreign copyright holders.
In this way, system participants save on license costs and, as a rule, on transfer costs. At the same time, their prices reach up to 800-1000 rubles per paperback copy, and there is no lack of buyers. At the same time, experts attribute the development of piracy in this segment to the high cost of original products.
Previously reportedthan the films and series of the American cinema studio disney will become inaccessible to users of Russian online cinemas.