Forum - View topiclicensee rights over scanlations
|
|
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
rubixcubd60
Posts: 21 |
|
||
|
I was talking with a friend the other day about scanlations. He posed an interesting question. Do licensees have any rights over chapters they have yet to publish? Do they control all of a series because they have it licensed or only the specific chapters, episode, etc. that they have licensed and published? If they don't is this a legal loophole for scanners/fansubbers to exploit?
|
|||
|
|||
GloriousMaximus
 Posts: 138 Location: North America |
|
||
|
I don't really understand your question, but from what I'm reading you're asking whether a manga is copyrighted internationally (aka the manga creator has rights over) a manga before its licensed.
Answer: Yes. Copyrights, for the most part, apply internationally and manga creators retain the rights to their work no matter where in the world you're reading it. So just because something isn't licensed doesn't mean you can distribute it/translate it without the permission of the creator (aka getting the rights to copy the manga) outside of Japan. When anime and manga is made, the company that makes it/publishes it, and the creator, retains the international rights to the anime/manga. When a series is licensed, the company that gained the licenses has the legal right to distribute said series in a specific region, depending on the terms of the license. So, if you're distributing something that is unlicensed, you are violating the copyright of the company that publishes it and the creator that made it. If you're distributing something that is licensed, you are violating the copyright of the company, the creator AND the company that has the right to distribute it in that area. In conclusion, there is STILL no legal justification for distributing licensed or unlicensed manga/anime. |
|||
|
|||
TatsuGero23
 Posts: 1277 Location: Sniper Island, USA (It's in your heart!) |
|
||
|
Right, someone, somewhere will have the rights. Even if Funimation or Viz doesn't have the rights to episode 2082 of Naruto or Chapter 692 of Bleach, that doesn't mean that the people in Japan don't have rights over them. Even if Funi or Viz never get those chapters or episodes for "X" reason, the original Japanese companies still have the rights to them and they get to decend how their product is distributed and those rights generally extend internationally. So it's not a "legal loophole" as it is just an excuse to get something for free.
It wouldn't be much of a problem if people went and bought the legitmate version when they become available. If that were the case then I'm sure licensers and the industry wouldn't be so negative with it all. But the problem is that most people don't. They just pick up the free "illegal" versions and settle for that. |
|||
|
|||
|
rubixcubd60
Posts: 21 |
|
||
|
Okay thanks for answering my question. I figured i was something along those lines, I was just curious.
|
|||
|
|||
|
Jaymie
Posts: 915 |
|
||
|
It depends on the company. Viz and Tokyopop have rights for all of the english translations of their manga (which means they technically own scanlations), while Yen Press licenses by the volume.
|
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group