contridiction

[Rhia]

Now i was wondering in the rules it says dont ask about illegal things like kazzaa ect,but then again isnt fansubbing illegal???
I dont wanna sound like a dumb ass or anything but i'd thought id point it out... sorry...
But ain ti right??

[xris]

Originally Posted by Rhia

but then again isnt fansubbing illegal

OMG, you are soooo correct!! How blind we have been here at AnimeSuki, we never even spotted that!!!!!

But I suggest you have a read of our Licensed Anime page. It's well hidden away, I mean it's only linked from the AnimeSuki front page

[Rhia]

Originally Posted by xris

OMG, you are soooo correct!! How blind we have been here at AnimeSuki, we never even spotted that!!!!!

But I suggest you have a read of our Licensed Anime page. It's well hidden away, I mean it's only linked from the AnimeSuki front page

Are u been sarcastic?? but if u havent thanks for supporting me...

[JAS0Nx]

Fight the power.

[Cruzz]

Originally Posted by Rhia

Now i was wondering in the rules it says dont ask about illegal things like kazzaa ect,but then again isnt fansubbing illegal???
I dont wanna sound like a dumb ass or anything but i'd thought id point it out... sorry...
But ain ti right??

Yes you're right well done and so on.

The fact is, the japanese copyright holders don't care about fansubs because they don't actually do them any harm. They don't stand anything to gain from cracking down on fansubbers so they don't. For the western licensing companies it's a different story though, as the availability of a "free" alternative to their releases is obviously going to have an effect on their profits.

[Forse]

if enough companies in japan would want to shut AS down, they could

[wnkryo]

Originally Posted by Cruzz

Yes you're right well done and so on.

The fact is, the japanese copyright holders don't care about fansubs because they don't actually do them any harm. They don't stand anything to gain from cracking down on fansubbers so they don't. For the western licensing companies it's a different story though, as the availability of a "free" alternative to their releases is obviously going to have an effect on their profits.

That doesn't make any sence at all, becuase the effect for western licensing companies should be no different from japanese copyright holders. It's just that japan CANT do anything about it becuase people who sub are in america, which they have no athourity over.

[bOcyOgl]

Originally Posted by wnkryo

That doesn't make any sence at all, becuase the effect for western licensing companies should be no different from japanese copyright holders. It's just that japan CANT do anything about it becuase people who sub are in america, which they have no athourity over.

Japan doesnt broadcast any to any anime to US, do they?

It was the US companies who bought the license, translate the anime and then broadcast/sell dvd

[FinFangFoom]

Rhia - I'm glad to hear you bit the bullet and are reading the rules! It's good to ask questions about anything you don't understand.

wnkryo - actually their work is still protected under international copyright laws

[Cruzz]

Originally Posted by wnkryo

That doesn't make any sence at all, becuase the effect for western licensing companies should be no different from japanese copyright holders. It's just that japan CANT do anything about it becuase people who sub are in america, which they have no athourity over.

I thought it made perfect sense. The japanese don't care because fansubs aren't a competing product. Nobody from Japan (well, not a statistically noticeable amount anyway) watches fansubs and Japan is pretty much the only market of interest to the japanese companies.

On the other hand, the western licensing companies and fansubbers provide pretty much the same service, so they are competitive products. The availability of a free product which provides much of the same functionality as a commercial one will naturally affect sales. It's a different can of worms if the effect is actually positive or negative, but that doesn't matter when talking about copyrights (atleast according to the music industry).

And lastly, the japanese companies do have a degree of authority over people in America, as while there is no international copyright law there are numerous agreements between various countries in which they agree to enforce each other's copyrights.

[raikage]

Originally Posted by Rhia

... isnt fansubbing illegal???
I dont wanna sound like a dumb ass or anything...

Ah, the eternal question (or at least one of them). These threads can easily extend to over ten pages, and the best anyone can really come up with is

By the strict letter of the law, yes, you are violating copyright law of rights to distribution.

Generally, Japanese companies don't care b/c they only focus on the Japanese market; if they thought fansubs were a real threat to their way of business they would crack down HARD and FAST. They do stand to make a lot of money on licensing to US companies, in which case fansubs may be a free way of advertising/getting people to demand they license Hikaru no Go (which almost no one would buy w/o having seen it first).

The original spirit of fansubs were to spread awareness of unknown anime and hope for it to be licensed; for a thread on whether or not they should still exist click here.

[jir0]

yes illegal by law, but these laws are not that stringent, and there aren't any who would enforce these laws. like a lot of other stuff, we overlook the legal stuff and go with our commen sense.

[Jin]

if AS were to get shut down, one week later animebuki would rise up

[OFFSPRiNGCo16]

To sum all of this up, yea its illegal and yea if some Japanese companies wanted to shut down AS badly enough they probably could but the truth of the matter is, most of them just could care less about us, especially since we arent in Japan.

[FinFangFoom]

Originally Posted by Jin

if AS were to get shut down, one week later animebuki would rise up

I wouldn't go that far. Animesuki is very well set up and run. If AS was taken down, probably 2 or 3 sites would spring up but they would most likely be much smaller and have much less frequent updates and would very likely be short lived. Let's hope it never comes to that though.

[lavarock]

Isn't this subject get debated/beaten to death before the board crushed?
Rhia, here is a little enlightenment from AnimeNewsNetwork that might answer your question.

A fansub is a fan-produced translated, subtitled version of an anime program. Fansubs are a tradition that began with the first anime clubs in the 1980s, although with the advent of cheap computer software and subbing equipment, they really took off in the mid 1990s. Nearly all fansubs are produced by anime fans for fans, and are distributed free (or at the very most, for reimbursement of incidental costs such as blank tape for the particular copy, postage, etc.) Those who do charge money for fansubs are frowned upon as bootleggers. Fansubs are distributed through local anime clubs, trading through the mail or now through file-sharing services on the Internet. Although technically illegal -- Japanese copyrights are honored in the US and other Berne Convention countries and vice versa -- some anime licensors look the other way on fansubs as "free advertising" since people who see a fansub are likely to buy the release on DVD if they enjoy it. Fansubbers also follow a code of honor of sorts, and halt all work on a title once it has been licensed in the US.

Now, if you still feal this to be a great contridiction to your morality you can well leave this board and not use any of the animesuki's service. It's FREE and nobody asked you anyway.

[lost_angel]

like many things this question has a hand in many answers, is it ethically wrong to steal someones creation? but what if that creation would be inaccessable to others if you didnt. many of the releases have never reached eu ground and thus if fansubbing were to cease, there would be a huge population with out access to this resource. i believe that the tables are balanced because all of those who may not pay for the privalge of viewing a episode would probebly never had access to it either way, and there are plenty of people paying for it.

who believes that missy elliot is going to starve if i download her tune, take a look at mtv cribs and you will see my point, i believe in a code of old which is if you like (and you can) purchase or make somekind of attempt to compensate for it.

two of the oldest professions alive, prostitution and counterfieting
and they will never go away.

the first comany to embrace it will reap the rewards i am sure.

it is a bit ironic though that we dont distribute when the US licences stuff, because
a) doesnt always mean other people have got it and we stop the flow of previously free information.
b) if copyright is the reason why do we not recognise the japanese copyright.

to close i will say,... let the scene live on, and this cool site should lead the way

[Rhia]

Thank you everybody, now ive got and understanding of how it all works..