Something cool, but also not sure what to do...

[Triple_R]

Something pretty startling was recently brought to my attention.

Back during my blogging days, I wrote a blog called "Why Gen Urobuchi is taking the anime world by storm".

I recently received an e-mail from a blog respondent notifying me that a significantly shortened and slightly edited version of my blog entry recently showed up in an English-learning textbook in China.

Here's a link to the original blog entry.

Here is a close-up snapshot of the two-page textbook version of my blog entry.

Here is a discussion thread on it that was also brought to my attention.

Apparently, I've been published in a Chinese school textbook, and I never even knew it!


Well, what do my fellow Anime Suki forum members think of this? Should I notify the owner of the Rabbit Poets blog? He hosted this blog piece after all.

Anyway, I do find this strange but also pretty cool. I felt it was something worth sharing.

Also, if anybody here can translate the discussion going on at that discussion thread, I'd definitely appreciate it.

[Ledgem]

If your work is copyrighted in some form then you (or the blog owner) could always file a takedown notice. If not, then I'm not really sure that there's anything you can do by force. Trying to enforce copyright protections in foreign countries also gets a bit iffy, particularly if those countries don't respect copyright law.

Either way, congratulations on getting published. Maybe it's something you could add to your resume?

[Fireminer]

Well, this is a "Win+Lose" situation. Your work got included published is the indication of your talent and knowledge. But on the other hand, if they did it once, then what could stop them from did it twice?

I see two solutions for this. You request them to take it down, or negotiace with them for something to return.

[Cosmic Eagle]

The forum is simply people saying how everyone loves Urobuchi and some thinking Mado is Mars...

[speedyexpress48]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

Well, this is a "Win+Lose" situation. Your work got included published is the indication of your talent and knowledge. But on the other hand, if they did it once, then what could stop them from did it twice?

I see two solutions for this. You request them to take it down, or negotiace with them for something to return.

You do realize this is China, right?

And I wouldn't be surprised if someone who's really active on English anime forums/blogs/MAL copy and pasted this thing. The Chinese immigrants in Canada or the US make up a sizable portion of the Western anime fanbase.

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

The forum is simply people saying how everyone loves Urobuchi and some thinking Mado is Mars...

Baidu comments are like YouTube comments, except with even more one-liner replies.

[Archon_Wing]

If that textbook entry is legit...

Wow, this is like that time the Chinese blatantly plagiarized 5cm per second and Haruhi. Death to capitalism! /copies everything about it

I think this is a good opportunity to post this, even though this is Korean plagiarism.

[larethian]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Something pretty startling was recently brought to my attention.

Back during my blogging days, I wrote a blog called "Why Gen Urobuchi is taking the anime world by storm".

I recently received an e-mail from a blog respondent notifying me that a significantly shortened and slightly edited version of my blog entry recently showed up in an English-learning textbook in China.

Here's a link to the original blog entry.

Here is a close-up snapshot of the two-page textbook version of my blog entry.

Here is a discussion thread on it that was also brought to my attention.

Apparently, I've been published in a Chinese school textbook, and I never even knew it!


Well, what do my fellow Anime Suki forum members think of this? Should I notify the owner of the Rabbit Poets blog? He hosted this blog piece after all.

Anyway, I do find this strange but also pretty cool. I felt it was something worth sharing.

Also, if anybody here can translate the discussion going on at that discussion thread, I'd definitely appreciate it.

Like what Cosmic Eagle said, there's really nothing special in the discussion (more concerning the topic of Madoka and Urobuchi rather than about the rip-off), though one comment did say it was a rip-off from your site.

And it's not really a textbook, but a weekly magazine for learning English.

[Triple_R]

Thanks to everyone for their replies, and thanks to Cosmic_Eagle and larethian for their info on what was being discussed on Baidu.

I'll probably notify the owner of the Rabbit Poets blog and see if it is copyrighted or not.

I actually kind of like what they did with it, so instead of a takedown notice, I wonder if there's any chance of negotiating for a free copy of that magazine.

[Lord of Fire]

If a blog is copyrighted (and I'm sure it is), then I'm sure an article in said blog is also copyrighted, regardless of whether or not the owner wrote it. You wrote an article in it, so it's yours.

[Dawnstorm]

I'm hanging out on author sites a lot, and here's a summary of the very basics. Specifics vary.

1. Copyright is automatic: As soon as you write something, it's copyrighted and you are the copyright holder. Some countries will let you register copyright, but that's all it is. If you don't register copyright, your copyright is unregistered, which means you have a slightly harder time proving that you have it, and that's about it.

Copyright means that nobody can publish anything without your consent.

2. If you publish something on a blog, the copyright is still yours, but you grant the blog rights to print it. Unless you've got some sort of agreement with the blog that they are the only ones who can print that article, it's none of their business.

If you do have an exclusivity agreement, copyright is - by default - your responsibility. That is in a worst-case scenario they could sue you, but they can't do anything about the Chinese mag. You have to do that.

Often exlusivity deals are limited by space, time, or publishing methods (exclusive rights for the USA, eclusive rights for two years, exclusive electronic printing rights...).

Should you want to publish that article later, this could count as published. You can still attempt to sue for copy right infringement, but if the mag owners can prove (e.g. via this thread) that you were aware of this and didn't do anything, this could count as implicit permission (depends on specific laws).

3. If they list any author other than you (or give false sources), you have a case of plagiarism. In this case, any interested party can sue, as - unlike copyright infringement - plagiarism is a type of fraud.

Summary: Copyright is yours, not the blogs. You may have given the blog certain exclusive rights, and if you did so, your not taking any action could be seen as a breach of contract.

Personally, I'd just ignore it, unless I had plans to come out big in China, or if I'd signed something with the blog that's not just a standard caution clause that nobody (including the blog owner) really cares about until something bad happens.

[Kanon]

This is pretty cool. Congrats on being published in China, RRR!

At first I thought they had shamelessly stolen your article but it looks they did credit you for it, so that's good. The main problem is that they never asked your permission to publish this, which is not only plain bad manners, but copyright infringement. You might be able to do something about this but I think it's more trouble than it's worth, especially since it doesn't seem like it bothers you much. Unless I had anything to gain (like big money if the magazine is very popular), I would let it slide.

[SPARTAN 119]

Hmmm... personally, I would not be all that bother with the Chinese publishers using my work, however, a little credit would be nice. Personally, I thought the layout of the textbook page looked very nice, though the presence of a neko Homura was amusing, now that's something will probably never appear in any textbook distributed in the US! That said, the presence of Puella Magi Madoka Magica images may itself be a copyright issue, but this is China we're talking about!

That said, I think It would be best if you simply asked the publishers to credit you in the work, with your name and the url of the article included under the title.

[speedyexpress48]

Originally Posted by SPARTAN 119

That said, I think It would be best if you simply asked the publishers to credit you in the work, with your name and the url of the article included under the title.

This is the land of bootleg DVDs sold at every stall, so...yeah.

[Tri-ring]

How about this TV advert from a construction company, Taisei Construction.

[RegalStar]

Apparently, the textbook translated the title of your article as "Everyone loves Gen Urobuchi". most of the posts on that tieba thread are poking fun at that. (The screenshots posted in that thread are really unclear so nobody can tell what was actually written in it, and I doubt most of them can read the original article in English, so it's not like they would have anything to discuss with the article itself)

Also, I do see your name getting creditted. There's a "by Triple_R" above the text.

EDIT: By the way, it's more of a magazine than a textbook, although it is meant to assist English education apparently.

[AnimeAlert]

i think it should go smoothly... i hope >_<

[Archaeon]

LOL! Congratulation on getting publish.

Yes,this is indeed very cool!