Kakao Entertainment publishes the 9th Anti-Piracy White Paper.. Establishes 'Dark Chaser' copyright protection system

*This content was translated by AI.

Kakao Entertainment (Co-CEOs Ko Geok-hee and Jang Yoon-jung) announced on the 27th that it has published its 9th Anti-Piracy White Paper, which introduces and details the company's own industry-first comprehensive copyright protection system, 'Dark Chaser,' developed in-house. Kakao Entertainment plans to lead the protection of creators' rights by advancing its copyright protection framework through 'Dark Chaser,' moving beyond reactive measures focused on post-infringement deletion to include proactive prevention against illegal distribution of content.

The newly introduced 'Dark Chaser' is a comprehensive copyright protection system developed in-house based on years of accumulated data and technical expertise in anti-piracy efforts by Kakao Entertainment. As illegal distribution tactics such as domain changes and circumvention access have become increasingly sophisticated, the system connects all processes—from content detection and reporting to verification of handling results, domain tracking, and response history management—into a single workflow, thereby enhancing response speed, efficiency, and accuracy beyond existing reactive deletion-focused measures.

Most importantly, 'Dark Chaser' is centered on analyzing infringement patterns and inter-site correlations to early detect repeated infringements and signs of new leaks. It implements the TTT (Targeting·Tracing·Takedown) strategy first unveiled in last year's 7th White Paper as an actual system, building a more sophisticated response framework by linking specific illegal site targeting (Targeting), operator tracing (Tracing), and closure with legal action (Takedown). Going one step further than simply deleting illegal content, the system has advanced its proprietary watermark technology to identify the original leaker and prevent repeated distribution of pirated materials.

Launched as a beta version at the end of 2025, 'Dark Chaser' is undergoing phased functional enhancements. Currently, it conducts around-the-clock global monitoring for approximately 16,000 Kakao Entertainment webtoon and web novel IPs, integrating multi-language keyword detection, domain change tracking, and repeated infringement pattern analysis results via a dashboard. This enables the company to visually assess the scale and repetitiveness of copyright infringements, determine response priorities, and swiftly coordinate with domestic and international institutional investors.

In the future, Kakao Entertainment plans to continuously analyze data accumulated through 'Dark Chaser' operations to further enhance the system. It also intends to strengthen its capabilities in leak prevention functions and expand the copyright protection information guidance system for creators and CPs (Content Providers).

Global efforts to block illegal webtoons and web novels continue to yield steady results. In the first half of this year, Kakao Entertainment blocked a total of approximately 126.16 million illegal global items, representing a 24.8% increase (about 25.03 million) compared to the second half of last year (July–December 2025), which saw 111.2 million blocks. Since the launch of P.CoK (Protecting the Content of Kakao Entertainment), the industry's first dedicated anti-piracy response team, in November 2021, cumulative removals of illegal global webtoons and web novels have exceeded 1.1 billion by June this year.

The white paper features interviews with Seo Young-seok and Kim Seung-su (Rep.), co-chairs of the National Assembly Members' Group for Fans of Comics and Webtoons (Man-sa-mo), and Yoon Seong-cheon, the newly appointed director of the Korea Copyright Protection Institute, who emphasized the importance and necessity of anti-piracy response efforts. Seo Yeong-seok (Rep.) stated, "To protect copyrights, National Assembly members, the government, and the private sector must work as a 'One-team,' each fulfilling their respective roles in close cooperation." Kim Seung-su (Rep.) added, "We will spare no policy support to ensure webtoons can establish themselves as future growth drivers that create related industries and jobs beyond the global content industry." Yoon Seong-cheon (Director) evaluated, "Kakao Entertainment's anti-piracy white paper is an important public asset that goes beyond individual corporate response achievements by sharing infringement types and response experiences across the entire industry."

Since launching P.CoK, the industry's first dedicated anti-piracy response organization, in 2021, Kakao Entertainment has been regularly publishing white papers to share its response achievements and expertise with the industry while advancing its copyright protection framework based on proprietary technology. A Kakao Entertainment representative stated, "Through this white paper, we have publicly unveiled our in-house developed 'Dark Chaser' for the first time, outlining the direction of a copyright protection system capable of proactive prevention. Moving forward, we will expand technological advancements and cooperation with relevant institutional investors and global organizations to build a content ecosystem where creators and users can feel secure."

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*This content was translated by AI.