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Fansub Script Copyright


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tueac



Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 33
PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:41 pm Reply with quote
Recently i come aupon a very interesting question.

Is Fansub's translation script Copyrighted? and can fansubbers enforce their copyright if a licensee uses their script?

and is the Japanese Anime's Script copyrighted to even protect them from translation?

Sorry if i post this in the wrong section. i dunno where to post this. sorry.
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MorwenLaicoriel



Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 1617
Location: Colorado
PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:45 pm Reply with quote
An anime's official script is copyrighted, yes--and I think that even putting out an unofficial translation of the script without a video is considered illegal because of that. I don't think a fansubber's translation could legally be considered copyrighted, since they're translating without permission from the copyright holders of the anime. I think a fansubber trying to enforce a 'copyright' on a script against someone that has the legal rights to translate it is just asking for trouble. ^^;
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tueac



Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 33
PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:49 pm Reply with quote
really thats what i was thinking also, but i have never seen anyone talk about it before so i dun really noe what to say to my friends
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Eruanna



Joined: 05 Sep 2006
Posts: 451
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:54 pm Reply with quote
I find it really remarkably stupid when fansubers go on and on about their work and how people shouldnt be using it.

"OH NOES they used our script!"
or, "How dare they host our fansubs without our permission!"
or "How dare they use our fansubs in their AMV's without our permission!"

They seem to forget that the anime isnt theirs to begin with.
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indrik



Joined: 22 Jul 2006
Posts: 365
Location: yonder
PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:54 pm Reply with quote
Morwen's right. Translation is specifically defined as a derivative work, which is protected for purposes of copyright, meaning it's a violation of copyright to produce a translation without permission. It would be similar to a bootlegger having a cow that somebody bootlegged their bootleg (yes, yes, degree, intent, etc.) and I suspect that anybody trying to enforce a copyright on a fansub script would be laughed out of court.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
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Joined: 14 Aug 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:57 pm Reply with quote
Yeaaaaa, another fansub thread. Rolling Eyes Guess with loli banned for a while we needed our usual fall back topic heh. As for the actual question, NO, they are not copyright protected. You can't copyright stolen, plagiarized, or otherwise illegal products. Since fansubs are illegal the answer is no.
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 6:40 pm Reply with quote
I"ve never heard of any fansubbers complaining about their products being used in AMVs...really, fansubs shouldn't be used in AMVs to begin with, but that's for technical reasons.

As other have said, no, there's no legal protections on something that's illegal to begin with, so the only defense they have is "honor amongst thieves," AKA, "You can't steal this when I rightfully stole it in the first place."

*re-opened for counter-argument*
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Azathrael



Joined: 12 Sep 2005
Posts: 745
PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:42 pm Reply with quote
Eruanna wrote:
I find it really remarkably stupid when fansubers go on and on about their work and how people shouldnt be using it.

"OH NOES they used our script!"
or, "How dare they host our fansubs without our permission!"
or "How dare they use our fansubs in their AMV's without our permission!"

They seem to forget that the anime isnt theirs to begin with.


What an immature argument. So just because fansubbers make illegal content, their content shouldn't be respected as "original" in all aspects of the word? And unless I'm completely clueless of the law, translating is NOT the illegal part; it's the distribution, which doesn't even matter if it's raw or fansub. I personally love seeing all the different fansubs because each group has a unique way of translating and explaining Japanese that simply can't be literally translated into English. Comparing that to some of the official translations, I'd say companies should start looking into purchasing fansubs as official translations if they want to make more profit. Afterall, all that gangster wear even white people wear is a style that companies ripped off straight from the black people in the streets. Following your argument, all those black people should be crying at the companies, and the companies "shouldn't forget that gangster wear isn't theirs to begin with". And I'm sure Mozart and Beethoven would be screaming in their graves right now every time they hear a remix of their originals, but we don't give a damn about that because they're dead and their copyrights have long expired, yeah?

I honestly see potential in certain fansub groups going professional. Instead of some of the poorest translations I've ever seen (ie. Banner of the Stars DVD English translation), they could actually get some decent translations and even some decent text and color as a plus, all the while attracting more anime fans to purchase DVDs rather than downloading fansubs. Why not? Something like this won't be the first in history and it might actually help the American anime industry. Napster eventually led to iTunes, no?

EDIT: Unless my argument wasn't clear enough: I'm all for copyrighting fansub script, whether it happens in a year or in a century.
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Redbeard 101
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:51 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
What an immature argument. So just because fansubbers make illegal content, their content shouldn't be respected as "original" in all aspects of the word? And unless I'm completely clueless of the law, translating is NOT the illegal part; it's the distribution, which doesn't even matter if it's raw or fansub.


Then by your own words you are clueless of the law. Think of it like this, there are 3 basic points of illegal activity to a fansub. 1- The illegal theft of the material. Without the illegal theft there could be no translation or distribution. 2- The translation is illegal because it's a translation of stolen material. 3- The distribution is by far the aspect that carries the harshest penalties. The material itself is obtained illegally, hence anything done with it (translation, distribution, etc)is also illegal. In short, fansubs, and all aspects of them, are by the law illegal. I don't wanna debate morality I'm simply stating facts.
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:01 pm Reply with quote
Stealing the raws is illegal and distributing the fansub is illegal. But the actual creation of a fansub isn't illegal. One could buy a legit DVD, rip it, translate it themselves, and create their own fansub, and it would not be illegal. But it would be as soon as they distribute it.

I *think* someone could make a translation and distribute the translation for people to use with the legit product. But I'm not entirely sure on that.
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frentymon
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Joined: 27 Nov 2005
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:04 pm Reply with quote
psycho 101 wrote:
1- The illegal theft of the material.


Not necessarily, I don't think. The one guy in the fansub group that records the anime off of his TV screen isn't doing anything illegal until either he passes it to his group members or they pass it around to the rest of the internet, I'm not sure which.
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HitokiriShadow



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:05 pm Reply with quote
But since all of the fansubbers obtain the raws from people doing just that, they are obtaining it illegally.
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frentymon
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:06 pm Reply with quote
They do? I was under the impression that many groups had their own guy who obtains the raws.

[EDIT]

HitokiriShadow wrote:
I *think* someone could make a translation and distribute the translation for people to use with the legit product. But I'm not entirely sure on that.


Someone doing just that for the Kanon game for PC (for people importing the game from Japan) stopped his project midway, IIRC declaring that he was sure that what he was doing was definitely not in legal territory (but that he stopped because he was having doubts about the morality as well).
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:11 pm Reply with quote
On rare occassions, they may, but that would be extremely rare. They rely on someone outside the group to put the raw up on the internet. There are usually multiple people doing this. The site I get my torrents from includes raws (and manga, live action Japanese shows, photobooks, magazine scans, etc.), so you can see all those raws. If the particular provider a group uses is late, it takes them longer to do the fansub.
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Redbeard 101
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:15 am Reply with quote
frentymon wrote:
psycho 101 wrote:
1- The illegal theft of the material.


Not necessarily, I don't think. The one guy in the fansub group that records the anime off of his TV screen isn't doing anything illegal until either he passes it to his group members or they pass it around to the rest of the internet, I'm not sure which.


Ok that is true. I was simply implying what I said to those illegal copy and post fansubs on the net idea. Sorry for confusion.
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