some info about copyrights

[complich8]

Originally posted by: drunkgohan
One friend suggested that licensors should sublicense their properties to fansubbers for a token amount, like $1/year, so the fansubbers are completely legit. There are arguments for and against that, but the fact of the matter is that the U.S. licensors of an anime or manga probably don't have the authority to sublicense the work in that way. Licensing agreements can be really complex and there are a million roadblocks to something like that.

My understanding of things is that ShoPro is a "master licensor". That means they bought the right to resell the rights to whomever they want under whatever terms they deem fair.

But I don't think they'll pursue a "sublicense to fansubbers" approach. Basically that'd legitimize fansubs as an alternative to legitimate means like watching on TV (which gets them royalties) and dvd (which obviously gets them lots of money too).

If ShoPro really wanted to, they could probably give it away free. But that'd be a bad business move, seeing how this series is going to be the biggest cash-cow to hit the markets since DBZ, if not ever. There's going to be scads of merchandising, there's going to be soundtrack releases, there's going to be probably a 70+ volume dvd set by the time the series is all said and done. No company ever bought a series like this to give away half the rights of it to some jerks on the internet, and in the current environment they probably never will.

So the whole discussion is hypothetical anyway. Businesses have the explicit goal of making money. That's all there is to it.

Oh, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the "actively defending" thing is actually more relevant to trademarks. If you let a trademark become generic, you can lose it, but copyright works differently. Just because someone steals something from you and you're aware of it doesn't mean you don't get to legally keep the rights to it. The problem is that businesses are trying to push copyright, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets all into the same "Intellectual Property" barrel, so they can try to blur the lines, confuse the judiciary, and make us all think that they're all the same thing.

[bob64]

Heres another idea...

Companies that license the anime could release untranslated (raw) episodes for a cheaper price then translated ones (like around 5 bucks per dvd). And give fansubbers permission to release "soft" subtitles for use in the video players.

Fansubbers get to continue subbing.
Hard core demanding fans get the elite translations while paying a shitload less.
Casual viewers get a choice.
Companies still get their money when they sell the dubbed/untranslated dvds and stuff.
Isp's are happier from less bandwidth useage (soft subtitles are rarely more the 100kb)


Interesting concept idea no?

[drunkgohan]

Originally posted by: complich8
My understanding of things is that ShoPro is a "master licensor". That means they bought the right to resell the rights to whomever they want under whatever terms they deem fair.

Since they've already announced the merger with Viz it seems pretty clear Viz will be producing Naruto for the U.S.--just a matter of time until it's announced I would guess.

Originally posted by: complich8
But I don't think they'll pursue a "sublicense to fansubbers" approach. Basically that'd legitimize fansubs as an alternative to legitimate means like watching on TV (which gets them royalties) and dvd (which obviously gets them lots of money too).

I think you're right. My friend's suggestion was retarded on many levels.

Originally posted by: complich8
Oh, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the "actively defending" thing is actually more relevant to trademarks.

Now that you mention it, I think you are completely correct--as I said I'm not the expert. Nothing like your entire post being completely wrong to make you look like an idiot [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]