ANN Copyright Policy

Unless otherwise stated, all material published on AnimeNewsNetwork.com is owned by and copyright Anime News Network LLC

Third party images, product descriptions and product names are the legal property (copyright and/or trademark) of their respective owner(s) where said companies' or individuals' rights apply.

To contact ANN about possible infringement of a copyright (ours or yours), or to request removal of content from ANN please e-mail [email protected] (copyright at animenewsnetwork.com).

Note: This article uses the term "fair use" to refer not only to US style fair use, but also fair dealings, and other similar legal concepts of various countries.

NEWS

Under the fair use clause of the Berne convention , which is reproduced in the copyright laws of all signatory countries, including the United States, Canada and Japan¹, information can be reproduced for the dissemination of News with the following guidelines:

1. The material must be properly attributed to the original source. The Berne convention was created before people started to use the Internet to disseminate news and makes no mention of links, however recent court cases and new laws passed in some countries makes linking to the source a requirement.
2. The material must be re-written in the words of those that wish to re-disseminate it. Cutting and pasting an entire article is not permitted. However quoting an excerpt of an article is permitted. Verbatim translations are also not permitted.
3. Furthermore, it is suggested that any given publication or website not use the fair use clause to rely entirely on another publication for all of its news. If you are going to cite news from Anime News Network, derivatives of our news should not majority of your news and you should use other sources and also have at least some original news content of your own.

In short: 1) Link to the source, 2) use your own words 3) Don't rely on one single source and 4) Have some original content.

Provided the above 4 guidelines are met, you do not need to ask our permission to repost items from our website if your purpose is to provide news to your audience. Despite not needing to ask our permission, we do appreciate a friendly note to inform us that you are using our news. Under no circumstances will Anime News Network pressure a website or publication to remove our content if the above circumstances are met.

If you have a website and would like to provide news to your readers but you aren't interested in investing the time necessary to do the news yourself, ANN has a free Newsfeed that you can look into here.

If you have a publication (electronic or printed) or broadcast and you would like to use news from Anime News Network in a more comprehensive manner, please contact our publisher and we will be happy to discuss possibilities with you.

If your country does not have a fair use / fair dealings, or equivalent, Anime News Network LLC hereby, explicitly grants you permission to reproduce news from AnimeNewsNetwork.com provided, as above:

1. You clearly credit and link to AnimeNewsNetwork.com as the source;
2. You rewrite the news in your own words (translations must not be verbatim);
3. AnimeNewsNetwork.com is not the source for the majority of the content on your website, in your broadcast, or in your publication, nor is it the source for the majority of the content in any particular section or segment of your website, publication or broadcast;
4. and your website, broadcast or publication contains significant original content in the section(s) where the permitted content from AnimeNewsNetwork.com is reproduced.

Reviews

Manufacturers, distributors and retailers may quote short excerpts from our reviews in publicity material and on the product itself provided that the quote is attributed to "AnimeNewsNetwork.com". We reserve the right to reproduce the publicity material as a part of our own publicity materials. This includes single pages from publications, home video box covers and screenshots.

While our permission is not required, a heads up is greatly appreciated.

Logo

The Anime News Network logo may be used on websites for the purpose of linking to AnimeNewsNetwork.com and in various mediums when accompanying articles about Anime News Network provided that the logo is altered in no substantial way (aspect ratio, coloring, additions) from its original presentation, with the exception of resizing (while maintaining the aspect ratio) it as needed. The logo may not be used in any way that identifies, or implies that the site, publication, broadcast, or product it is used on/in/with is associated to Anime News Network in any way. In all cases, logo remains the intellectual property of Anime News Network LLC and is protected by applicable laws.

Forum Posts

Any and all posts made on Anime News Network's discussion forums are the property of the original poster. Excerpts from the posts can be used under the fair use clause, but the entire post cannot be reprinted without the original poster's explicit consent.

Other Material and Situations

If you would like to reproduce any material from Anime News Network in a way that is not covered under the above guidelines you must contact us and obtain our explicit consent first.

Images in the release database and reviews belong to the copyright owners of the respective title.

Please note that some of the content posted on Anime News Network may not belong entirely to Anime News Network and has been posted with the (co)owner's permission. In those cases we may not be able to give permission to use the content.

---

1: Articles 10 and 10bis of the Berne Convention, as revised, 1971

Article 10 (Fair Use)

(1) It shall be permissible to make quotations from a work which has already been lawfully made available to the public, provided that their making is compatible with fair practice, and their extent does not exceed that justified by the purpose, including quotations from newspaper articles and periodicals in the form of press summaries.

(2) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union, and for special agreements existing or to be concluded between them, to permit the utilization, to the extent justified by the purpose, of literary or artistic works by way of illustration in publications, broadcasts or sound or visual recordings for teaching, provided such utilization is compatible with fair practice.

(3) Where use is made of works in accordance with the preceding paragraphs of this Article, mention shall be made of the source, and of the name of the author, if it appears thereon.

Article 10bis (News Coverage)

(1) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to permit the reproduction by the press, the broadcasting or the communication to the public by wire, of articles published in newspapers or periodicals on current economic, political or religious topics, and of broadcast works of the same character, in cases in which the reproduction, broadcasting or such communication thereof is not expressly reserved. Nevertheless, the source must always be clearly indicated; the legal consequences of a breach of this obligation shall be determined by the legislation of the country where protection is claimed.

(2) It shall also be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to determine the conditions under which, for the purpose of reporting current events by means of photography, cinematography, broadcasting or communication to the public by wire, literary or artistic works seen or heard in the course of the event may, to the extent justified by the informatory purpose, be reproduced and made available to the public.

2: US Legal Code Title 17, Chapter 1, Sec 106:

Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors

3) Canadian Copyright Law, Part III, Article 29.2

29.2 Fair dealing for the purpose of news reporting does not infringe copyright if the following are mentioned:(a) the source; and(b) if given in the source, the name of the(i) author, in the case of a work,(ii) performer, in the case of a performer's performance,(iii) maker, in the case of a sound recording, or(iv) broadcaster, in the case of a communication signal.1997, c. 24, s. 18.

4) Copyright Law of Japan, Chapter 2

Article 32: Quotations
(1) It shall be permissible to make quotations from a work already made public, provided that their making is compatible with fair practice and their extent does not exceed that justified by purposes such as news reporting, criticism or research.
(2) It shall also be permissible for the press or other periodicals to reproduce informatory, investigatory or statistical data, reports and other works of similar character which have been prepared by organs of the State or local public entities, independent administrative organs or local independent administrative organs for the purpose of public information and which have been made public under their authorship, provided that the reproduction thereof is not expressly prohibited.

Article 39: Reproduction, etc. of articles on current topics
(1) It shall be permissible to reproduce in the press, to broadcast and diffuse by wire articles published in newspapers or periodicals on current political, economic or social topics, not having a scientific character, or to make the interactive transmission (including the making transmittable by means of inputting information to an interactive transmission server already connected with telecommunication networks for public use) of such articles simultaneously upon receiving such broadcasts, exclusively for the purpose of reception within service areas intended for by such broadcasting; provided that such reproduction, broadcasting, wire diffusion or making the interactive transmission thereof is not expressly prohibited.
(2) It shall also be permissible to communicate publicly, by means of a receiving apparatus, articles thus broadcast, diffused by wire or of which the interactive transmission has been made.

Article 41:Reporting of current event
Article 41. For the purpose of reporting current events by means of photography, cinematography, broadcasting or otherwise, it shall be permissible to reproduce and exploit a work involved in the event or a work seen or heard in the course of the event, to the extent justified by the informatory purpose.

---

U.S. Copyright Office
Canadian Copyright Act
Berne Convention (revised)
Copyright law of Japan - Chapter 2

---

10 Big Myths about copyright explained
Intellectual Property Law Primer for Multimedia and Web Developers

---

Footnotes

1: Although a signatory of the Berne Convention, Japan has not fully implemented the fair use clauses recommended by the Berne Convention.

---

Disclaimer

The information presented above is presented for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Although the information has been carefully checked and researched for accuracy, Anime News Network LLC does not assume any liability or responsibility for the accuracy or usefulness of the information presented above. Always consult a lawyer or legal expert before taking or responding to legal action.