News

Downloaded Sora no Otoshimono Copy Shown at Funimation Studio

A downloaded copy of a Sora no Otoshimono (Heaven's Lost Property) anime episode appears in footage taken at the North American anime distributor Funimation's dubbing studio for a reality web television series. The second episode of Tokyopop's America's Greatest Otaku series shows the monitors at Funimation's studio during the English dubbing of the third episode of Heaven's Lost Property. The episode footage on the monitors has subtitles whose text and fonts match a BitTorrent release by a group that extracts and re-styles subtitles from the streaming website Crunchyroll.

Funimation had not offered an official comment at press time. However, a source at the company who wished to remain anonymous said that the company occasionally uses "unofficial" copies during the dubbing process if the acquisition of the original source material is delayed. The source said that Funimation's license makes the use of the content legal, even with a third party's unauthorized changes.

In January, Funimation filed a lawsuit against 1,337 "John Does" for allegedly downloading and distributing an episode of the One Piece television anime series. In February, Senior United States District Judge Royal Furgeson removed defendants 2 through 1,337 from the suit and said that Funimation had to file individual, separate lawsuits for each defendant because the accused were not "acting in concert."

[Via gg fansubs, Daiz]

Thanks to Anon for the news tip.

Update: Thanks to Daiz also for the news tip.