The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world’s leading anti-piracy coalition, today welcomed NAVER WEBTOON as its newest member. NAVER WEBTOON is part of WEBTOON Entertainment Inc., a leading global entertainment company and home to some of the world’s largest storytelling platforms.
NAVER WEBTOON is the first and only webcomic and webnovel company to join ACE, and the first Korean-originated company to join ACE. NAVER WEBTOON’s parent company, WEBTOON Entertainment, is headquartered in Los Angeles and listed on the Nasdaq.
WEBTOON Entertainment and webcomics have exploded in popularity around the world, creating a new generation of comic creator superstars. The company’s content has also become an important source of IP for the global entertainment industry, with its two studios – Wattpad WEBTOON Studios in the United States and Korea’s Studio N – producing a string of hits on global streamers, including Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and Crunchyroll, along with local projects from Korea and across the Asian market.
“Bringing NAVER WEBTOON into ACE’s ranks builds upon our expansion in the Asia Pacific, our growth worldwide, and our mission to protect intellectual property in every form,” said Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE. “From Korea to California and points in between, our coalition is always on the lookout for new footholds in key markets – to build ties with local law enforcement and strengthen our work to detect, deter, and dismantle a piracy ecosystem that steals content, endangers consumers, and threatens the creative economy.”
“Webcomics have transformed entertainment and fandom around the world, enabling storytellers everywhere to share their voice,” said WEBTOON Entertainment Founder & CEO Junkoo Kim. “As the first webcomic company to join ACE, we’re proud to continue to protect creators and raise global awareness of the seriousness of illegal distribution. Working alongside ACE and industry partners, we look forward to finding opportunities for joint responses and working together to tackle illegal content distribution.”
Source: Press Release
