Forum - View topicInterview: Razmig Hovaghimian, Co-founder and CEO of Viki.com
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Zerreth
 Posts: 210 Location: E6 |
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So what's stopping the site from simply ripping subs from other fansub groups and not crediting them? Wouldn't someone be able to simply provide fansubs verbatim and just see which lines get approved and modified and just label themselves as a different person/group and no one would be the wiser?
I understand that this is all a "for the community" and an effort to learn new languages and everything is supposed to be FUBU, but didn't crunchyroll have this issue? And as long as this is a for profit organization, won't this always be the issue that stands in regards to community based projects? Also, how are issues in regard to a community split handled? To be more clear, certain shows have extreme peculiar and/or non-existent mannerisms. Shows like Ika Musume would be an example. There are those who would prefer puns and those who would like something else, and as far as I know, many translators (fansub or commercial) are also split in this way. How is a manager supposed to handle this sort of situation? A mix would generally be disastrous as the lack of consistency wouldn't help one "learn" a new language at all. I know for a fact certain historical korean dramas use a modified speech pattern that retains a bit of the way the language was spoken back then but with a slightly revised vocabulary to avoid words which were too archaic (think shakespeare but every so often replacing "wherefore" with "why"). |
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agila61
 Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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You mean, what's stopping contributors to the site from simply ripping subs ... the site itself licenses the original content and accepts submissions of subtitles from members. At the moment, the legal protection is the copyright of the fansub group that performed the translation. Like any site aiming to qualify for US safe harbour status, Viki.com has a rights violation process. Obviously, the fansub group could either insist that their work be taken down, or else insist that they receive credit for their work. |
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Lupica
Posts: 89 |
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I am so happy this site exists and understands that not everyone natively speaks the language of the country they are in! My husband's parents are delighted to finally have found a legal source for their favourite dramas from back home, and I'm delighted about the anime side.
I'd like to be able to pay and remove the ads, if possible, one day. That's the only thing I'd change about the basic premise. |
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nursemcquade
 Posts: 26 Location: NY |
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This sounds like an interesting idea. I have a feeling that we aren't going to see a lot of this content in North America. It seems like Japanese license holders have better ways of monetizing their content in the North America and other established markets like Western Europe, Australia, etc. But who knows...Things are-a-changin' so we'll have to watch and see what happens here.
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GATSU
Posts: 15570 |
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I hope those fansubbers get paid eventually, because they will jump ship when they got bills, and everyone else but them is making money off the deal.
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Fletcher1991
 Posts: 514 Location: Long Island, NY |
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Well technically taking the subs from a group who didn't legally acquire the work isn't really a big deal. You can't steal something from someone when it doesn't belong to them. I mean I could see the groups who did the subs being annoyed, but they have no legal right to complain. Maybe this will just encourage them to contribute directly to this site. |
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Tempest
 I Run this place.ANN Publisher  Posts: 10460 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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Well, technically, you're wrong. Translations are afforded copyright protection, and the copyright belongs to the translator or whoever commissioned the translation. However, as the original work is protected by it's own copyright, the translation can not be used without the permission of both the party that holds the copyright (or a license) on the original work, and the party that holds the copyright (or a license) on the translation. It's important to note: Permission is not required to create a translation of a work. Permission is however required to distribute that translation. In otherwords, the act of creating a fansub is not infringement; however distribution of that fansub is infringement. The act of participating in infringing distribution does not negate the translators rights in regards to his translation. So yes, it is a copyright violation to use a fansubber's translation without their permission, and the fansubber does have the right to take legal action against such use. -t PS: Copyright infringement is not theft. |
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Chagen46
 Posts: 4377 |
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As interesting and awesome this site sounds....fansubs are not reliable when it comes to quality at all. I have large amounts of skepticism for the overall quality of the subtitles for the shows.
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agila61
Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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Yes, the subtitles are quite decidedly not for the connoisseur ~ "why are you here at this belated juncture" is the translation I have seen on some of these K-dramas for what would most naturally expressed, "why are you here at this late hour". So the most promising grounds for a site like Crunchyroll to collaborate with Viki on a series would be those cases where the streaming rights have been chopped up, and Crunchyroll gets a streaming contract with a big chunk of the world carved out. If Viki.com was able to get the streaming rights within that big chunk that was carved out, they could possible do a useful rights swap ... but Crunchyroll would be looking to get the right to stream its subtitles to members more broadly, not looking to get Viki's subtitles. |
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Fletcher1991
Posts: 514 Location: Long Island, NY |
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Oh alright, thanks for clearing that up. Either way, I doubt a fan sub group would go that far to protect their translations. And I am sure that many people who want to contribute to the site will probably just take subs from other groups that already translated it. But all that does is distribute their work more readily, so if they are really doing the translations just as fans wanting to share this content then I don't think it should bother them. |
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glitteringloke
 Posts: 160 |
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I actually have more problems with a channel 'owner' not replying to PMs so i can help work on a show more than filling in blanks when one of the few approved people have done some of the timing. Master of Epic would be done by now >
I'm one of those fansub group members that is trying to get our translation done the actual legal method. I totally love this idea and while some people submitting translations aren't always great at it, it's a fun way to test your own translation skills if you're learning other languages, at least IMO |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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Very interesting. Didn't realize that. But what if you wanted to help out with those subs or practice translation from English to another language? |
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math4origami
Posts: 12 |
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This was wikipedia's first major hurdle, too, but it hasn't killed it. I think that as long as critical mass is reached, we can gradually raise the bar for quality. The more people invested in a project, the greater the end result can be, by taking the best of knowledge from everyone. This of course would be a problem for unpopular shows, but it's unlikely those shows would get subs at all without this model. |
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Actar
 Posts: 1074 Location: Singapore |
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The problem here is that everyone has their own way of defining what is 'quality'. Basic issues like spelling and grammar aside, the community has always been at odds regarding issues like Literal versus Liberal translations, accuracy, cultural flavor, language nuance, naturalness, honorifics, etc... Something that you might consider to be of 'good quality' might not be 'good' for others and vice versa. |
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Veers
 Posts: 1197 Location: Texas |
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Really interesting read, thanks for the interview. I'll have to check this site out.
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