Japanese Animation Legality FAQ Maintained by Avatar (akent@pdq.net) Version 1.04, last updated 3/14/99 1.x Introduction 2.x Legal considerations/videotape 3.x Legal considerations/images 4.x Legal considerations/fan fiction 5.x Legal considerations/other 6.x Practical considerations 7.x Ethical considerations/videotape 8.x Ethical considerations/images 9.x Ethical considerations/fan fiction 10.x Ethical considerations/other 11.x Miscellaneous (USENET thoughts) 0.0 Disclaimer First off, I am -not a lawyer-. There. That's out of the way. All conclusions on legal matters are made from reference to the US Copyright Code (available online at http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/), and the Berne Conventions (available online at http://www.wipo.org/eng/iplex/wo_ber0_.htm), plus the occasional sneak peek at the relevant sections of copyright law from other countries. There's not much legal precedent in the area, so in theory a case could go either way. I'm just telling you which way it would go if you're an average fan with no money for the OJ Legal Defense Team. ^_^ As for legal matters, the document deals with United States law, and every so often references to the legal systems of Canada and Australia when they are specifically mentioned. 1.0 Introduction I've read through -way-, -way-, waaaaaaaay too many flamewars on this subject. You know what I'm talking about... somebody new asks, "is this legal?" and every flame-happy idiot crawls out of the woodwork to slag the poor ignorant schmuck. They eat up bandwidth that could be used for more productive things, like pointless X vs. Y fight threads or GRIT. Or perhaps you don't, which is why you're reading this document. With any luck, this will become a definitive analysis of -all- the issues involved, and we can quit yelling about them. And hopefully you'll get a good laugh as well. I could have written a dry legalistic document that would be better at putting people to sleep than a warm glass of milk, but that wouldn't work too well. A side note; this FAQ intentionally avoids being judgmental on controversial issues, such as the relative ethics of various types of fansub distribution. That's intentional... I'm not trying to set down a rigid pattern of "rules" here. My intent is to outline general areas of consensus and the various arguments involved. Read and form your own opinion, please. 1.1 Upkeep and updates I'll post this to my website and monthly to rec.arts.anime.misc and rec.arts.anime.fandom, in hopes of making it available to everybody who wants or needs to look through it. Mail suggestions to akent@pdq.net. If you object to something I say in here, and can put together a decent, cogent, non-flame letter as to why, send it over! This thing isn't perfect and won't get better without help. In the initial posting of this FAQ, I told people that felt compelled to flame somebody that they should wait until KJ Karvonen posted a rant and flame him instead. Not only did KJ take exception to this (giving me the only flame I’ve received to date), but he also provided a couple of valuable bits of information that I have included in this document. So, at this point, I’d like to apologize. Don’t flame KJ. After that, I suggested that people flame John Hokanson, the famed Working Designs opponent. But then -he- came and gave me several constructive ideas for the FAQ and has been very helpful, so I can't in good conscience tell people to flame him either. So, instead, I'm going to recommend that those who cannot refrain from flaming to send their flames to atrophos2@aol.com, for unseemly behavior in the wake of the recent Trish Ledoux thread. If anybody really deserves a flame or two, it's this guy. 1.2 Structure First, I list legal considerations. This is mostly based on US law, although it doesn't vary all that much elsewhere (almost all the world is party to the Berne Conventions). Then, I indulge in a bit of ethical talk. For most issues, it's open-and-shut. I spend a -lot- of time on the issue of fansubs, mostly because it's a lot more complicated than the rest of it. I'm trying to be neutral and present both sides of the controversial bits, so a few sections will contradict each other in the ethical section. You will have to make up your own mind about how you feel about these things; I merely hope that increased knowledge about all the arguments makes you (a) feel a sense of responsibility and (b) less prone to making rash value judgements. 1.3 Credits Some commentary from Scott Schimmel, Anthony Herana, Jorge R. Frank, Ken Arromdee, Cathy Krusberg, John Hokanson, Lynda Feng, James Marken, and whoever writes from "lch1@cornell.edu" but never signs their messages, helped in the formation of this draft. Thanks, guys. I quote a message from Mark Neidengrad about the recent change in Houbankyou policy, since I don't know much about it. Thanks. 1.4 Finding the File I never personally saw the wisdom in advertising where this file is available in the contents of the file (after all, if you’re reading it already!), but in case you want to bookmark it or something, it’s at http://members.tripod.com/~AvatarHR/legalityfaq.txt. 2.0 LEGAL CONCERNS/Videotape 2.1 Is it legal to copy my friend's tape of (x)? -No-. This is a violation of copyright laws. The company that owns the rights to the video in question did not authorize you to make that copy. Without that authorization, -any- copy made is illegal. What did you think they put that FBI warning in there for? 2.11 What about Anime? As far as I'm aware, there is no exemption from copyright law for anime. Sorry. 2.12 So, should I run from the law now or wait for them to find me? You're probably okay. The legal establishment (in the US; your mileage may vary) is notoriously poor at enforcement of such infringements. This depends on how you're doing it, of course. If you borrow and copy a tape, or rent and copy a tape, how's anybody going to know? On the other end of the spectrum, publicly advertising copies (cheap or otherwise) of stuff that you're not licensed to copy tends to tick off the people who have that license, because it cost them money to get licensed. In that case, expect a letter from that company's lawyers and hope they let you off with an apology and promise never to do it again. 2.13 If an anime is shown on TV, can I tape it and watch it later? Yes. But you can't copy your copy and give it to a buddy that missed the show. (Technically, you shouldn't -loan- your copy to said buddy who missed the show.) 2.14 What about rental copies of TV shows from Japanese TV, available in the US? I'll paste a bit from a message I got from Mark Neidengrad here... Ah...I think you've overlooked one _massive_ example of "enforcement" - the oft-lamented restriction on tapes made from Japanese television bound for rental stores in the U.S. by the Housou Bangumi Kyoukai. My understanding is that all Japanese rental tapes in U.S. stores must be vetted by the Houbankyou or their deputies (such as the Overseas Carrier Service in the Los Angeles area). Any store caught renting tapes that do not have (or have erroneously) the sticker of approval are subject to tape confiscation and further legal reprocussions. The proprieter of Idolland in Monterey Park told me that at least two other stores had had their tapes seized by the LAPD for not complying with the strictures - since both Japan and the US are WIPO signatories, the U.S. is obliged to use its law enforcement authorities to uphold Japanese copyrights if the Japanese so request. So it's not that there is _no_ enforcement... *snort* A PR nightmare, on a very small scale as it turns out. Certainly the Houbankyou members didn't hesitate in handing down their edict and reducing the number of tapes from Japanese TV from a torrent to a trickle - something like half a dozen series _total_ (not just anime), give or take, at any one time. Since the number of fans impacted (i.e. those elite enough to go after tapes hot off of Japanese TV instead of waiting for the rental-approved or home video release, or more likely a fansub thereof) was small, this travesty has gone mostly unlamented. And the few members of the anime industry that I've posted the question to at AX haven't shown much sign of being able to (or being interested in?) doing anything to reverse the situation. Indeed, the HBK's ban was very cheap: piss off only a small minority of fans (who tend to be sneered at by the fan "mainstream" anyway), and at the same time all but cut off the "detrimental" flow of new material into the fan underground. I wonder if, had Fushigi Yuugi been cut off by such restrictions, it would have garnered the sort of crowds or outpouring of fan sentiment that we saw at AX this past year... I will also note in passing that the HBK did this, not only pissing off fans of anime, but the sizeable number of Japanese nationals or low- generation immigrants who relied on Japanaese rental outlets overseas for their television programming... Thanks, Mark. 2.2 What about fansubs? Are they legal? Um, no. It's not legal to distribute a fansub any more than it is a tape released by an American company. 2.21 What -is- a fansub, anyway? The term "fansub" refers to a FAN SUBtitled anime. Basically, somebody takes the Japanese tape, with Japanese dialogue, and uses a computer device known as a "genlock" to lay subtitles over the tape. Related terms include "fansubber", one who creates a fansub, and "fansub distributor", somebody who you can get a fansub -from-. 2.22 But there isn't any American company that has the rights to (x), so it's okay, right? No, not really. The US and Japan are both party to the Berne Conventions, which deal with copyrights. Without going into a lot of rigmarole, if it's copyrighted in the US, you can't copy it in Japan and get away with it, and (more importantly to us) vice versa. Technically, it's -just- as illegal. 2.23 Okay, what about enforcement? There is none. At all. 2.231 What, none at all? With a few exceptions, no. (In fact, the only one of which I am aware is the recent Sony-Rurouni Kenshin issue, in which a few fansubbers received a message from Sony's Japanese operations telling them to stop, as it was interfering with their ability to sell the series to a domestic company... more on that later.) 2.232 Why not? Simple; there's not really any financial stake in it for the Japanese company in question. It costs a lot of money to have lawyers to prosecute people, especially when it's a civil offense in a country where you have no business presence. Also, the fan base reacts poorly to enforcement of this sort of thing. Nobody really wants to see their favorite company raiding its own potential customer base, right? A certifiable PR nightmare, indeed. 2.233 But these fansub distributors are selling the tapes! Yup. See the "ethics" section for analysis of that. 2.24 So, is it illegal to make a fansub? Actually, no! (Surprised you, didn't I?) So long as you legally own a source copy of the original, you can make a single archive copy and do a limited amount of alteration on it without much legal involvement. However, you can't copy that copy. So, it's not going to go any further than you and any friends that you can show the copy too. Also, giving away your archival copy is a big no-no, unless you turn over your original with it (and usually that means a Japanese LD, big bucks!); not likely to happen. 2.25 What do I do with a fansub if an American company licenses the anime? Well, legally, you shouldn't have it in the first place. Thus, from a legal perspective, you should destroy the tape or at least blank or overwrite it with something else. Or grab the US version as soon as you possibly can; the companies involved are usually much more likely to grant a little slack to a customer than what they consider a pirate. Naturally, this question pretty much assumes that you've got a fansub already, in which case you should refer to the "ethics" section. 2.3 Can I import the Japanese product? Yes; there's several companies that are more than willing to sell you Japanese LDs (and even some VHS). It's perfectly legal. (US Copyright law allows you to import copyrighted works without limit, so long as they are legitimate. And no "exclusive distribution" stuff applies to the Japanese-language version.) 2.31 Can I get a Japanese friend to tape it from TV and send it here? No. Regardless of the legality of that act in Japan, the tape becomes illegal as soon as it enters the US. 2.4 What about fandubs? They're just as illegal as fansubs. 2.41 What is a fandub, anyway? A fandub is much like a fansub, but instead of putting subtitles up on the screen, the creator overlays his or her own audio track. A lot of fan dubs are "parody" dubs, where the voices emphatically do -not- match what was originally being said. 2.42 Aren't they permissible under parody laws, then? Not if they use the original images; those are under copyright. Parodies can only contain -so much- of the original. (Theoretically, you could edit the hell out of a parody tape, including enough fractured bits here and there to where it would then become legal... ow.) 2.5 What about music videos made from anime images? No, they're not legal either. (Are you sensing a theme here?) 2.51 You're joking! Why would a music video be illegal? The images used in the video are all copyrighted by somebody or other, right? It's probably not your song, either. 2.6 What about public showings of anime released in the US? You are obligated to obtain permission from the releasing company to show their work. This doesn't come up much with fansubs, as you don't have permission to -have- that copy of the work in the first place, much less show it around. Generally, this involves writing a letter to the company, telling them when and where you plan on showing it. ADV's policy is really non-restrictive (at least for us in Houston), and Animeigo, Manga, CPM, and Viz only ask to be informed before each showing. We haven't heard from Pioneer (anybody?). It seems that, since the last posting of the FAQ, Anime Village has obtained a clue and will now grant permission to show their titles. 3.0 LEGAL CONCERNS/Images 3.1 Is it legal for me to use images of (x)? This depends. There are several legitimate reasons for you to use images without permission under the "fair use" clause of the US Copyright Code; commentary and review are both included. So, if you're adding images to spice up a review site, or a synopsis listing, or some such, you should have no problems. Posting screen grabs in image galleries is -not- considered fair use, however. That sort of thing is illegal. 3.11 What about images in an art book? Well, they're not covered under the tape's copyright. They -are- covered under the art book's copyright, though. Same applies; if you're mentioning the art book somehow, and you put an image up, no big deal, but you can't post the whole thing scanned in. 3.12 I see an awful lot of them scanned in on websites, though. Are you sure it's illegal? Yes, it's illegal. Enforcement is a completely separate issue. 3.13 No, it's not. Nothing that widespread can be illegal. You sure? There was an almighty mess in 1997, when Gainax cracked down on websites using images of Neon Genesis Evangelion. (It got to the point where several ISPs were specifically asked by Gainax to remove specific pages containing Evangelion pics, and Gainax -still- has a "legally approved" selection of images that can officially be posted by everybody.) Of course, once the pressure was off, the pics came back up. 3.2 What about fan art of existing characters? Hoo boy... this can get complicated. Generally, fan art -does- fall under the jurisdiction of the company involved, and could theoretically be illegal (under trademark law, which is an entirely different kettle of fish). In actuality, companies love fanart (free promotion!) and there is a very, very small set of circumstances that could get you into trouble. In general, though, anything goes as far as fan art is concerned. 3.21 Like what? Generally, fan art duplicating images that -are- copyrighted is discouraged, although you're not likely to actually get in trouble unless the original artist gets wind of it and is feeling evil that day. There's a lot of play in that; basically, so long as the production didn't involve tracing paper, you're likely to be okay. (If you can produce a likeness of an anime character to perfection without tracing paper, you should be a professional! ) Also, using fan art for commercial gain is frowned upon. Around here, one popular use is the inclusion of Eva pictures in flyers advertising local rave parties and clubs; that's illegal use. If you're making money off of it, the chances that the original rights-holder will object go up as well. 3.22 What about fan art at conventions? They can sell for a lot. That's different; you're selling the original work. 3.23 Can I use somebody else's fan art? No. Not only is this -just- as illegal as using the company's art, but the fan artist in question is exponentially more likely to take offense, and thus legal action, against you. 3.231 But the fan artist doesn't own the copyright to the characters... But he does to the -image-, and that's what is the important issue here. 3.24 Why is fan art permitted? Again, it's not worth the company's time to squash it. It's not like the anime company loses money to fan artwork, and it serves a secondary promotional purpose. Plus, there would be a horrific backlash against any company that cracked down on fan artists. Besides, it serves as a large ego-stroke to the creators. 3.3 If I create an anime-style character, is the image mine? Yes. You can copyright it, do whatever you want with it, and sue people for messing with it. Note that you'd have a hard time arguing in court that your character is original if it happens to look just like the character from a popular series. 3.31 If another fan creates an anime-style character, can I do fan art of that? A touchy subject. A lot of this depends on the origin of the character, of course. Ask permission if you intend to post or distribute your stuff. If the character in question is the creation of another artist, you're not likely to get permission; on the other hand, if the character was created as part of a work of fan fiction, you are almost -certain- to get permission. 4.0 LEGAL ISSUES/Fan Fiction 4.1 Is fan fiction legal? Hoo boy. I've done a lot of review on this topic since the last posting of the FAQ, and I think I'm going to have to reverse my decision on it. It appears that fan fiction of Japanese anime is indeed legal, or at least illegal in such a way that it's completely unprosecutable. 4.11 Say what? The key seems to be the definition of "derivative work", which is cited in copyright law as being the exclusive right of the original author. Translation of the work is one of the things specifically included, which is why fansubs are clearly copyright violations. Nothing in the definition of "derivative work" given in the body of the law, however, seems to point at fan fiction. Indeed, the law almost goes out of its way to point out that the basic ideas behind the original work cannot be copyrighted; only the body of the material itself. Under this analysis, it seems that anime fanfic is not a violation. This is an instance where a good bit of case law would go a loooong way. Unfortunately, I've never found any ruling on it, one way or the other. Additionally, it -is- clear that the characters in an anime series can be protected by trademark law; their distinctive likenesses and such are definitely also the property of the author. Fortunately for the fan author, most Japanese companies are incredibly lax in the enforcement of their trademarks (can you say "comiket"?), and thus those trademarks carry precious little weight under US law. Note that this is -not- supported by case law or precedent, just by one guy's interpretation of the law. If I could find some case law dealing with fanfiction, it would be a tremendous help. Of course, most of those types of cases never make it to court, so... 4.12 So, all fanfiction is legal? Nope. You still can't step on the toes of American authors and such. Examples follow. Larry Niven, a hard SF writer (dang good, too, in my opinion), doesn't permit fan fiction. At all. If he so much as sees a "kzin" (an alien feline race of his own creation) in something, out come the lawyers, giving the author a "cease and desist" notice. The idea -is- his, and he was disturbed by a couple of the first examples of fanfic he saw (mostly because they were poorly written "lemon" fics, but that's another issue), and he's perfectly within his legal rights to say "no". Anne McCaffery writes the "Pern" series of books, among other things. She takes a middle route; there is actually a fixed set of "rules" that she has issued concerning the content of fics dealing with her world and continuity (if I'm not mistaken, that includes no canon characters, no crossover, and certain restrictions on what can and cannot happen... oh, and no white dragons). So long as authors stay within these bounds, they're okay; otherwise, she takes offense, and out come the lawyers. Fortunately for anime fans, no Japanese company has ever banned fan fiction. Essentially, it's permitted freely. 4.13 O_o? You give examples of American authors getting offended; why isn't the Japanese situation the same? Simple; fan fiction is a much larger part of fandom in Japan than in the US. Heck, stroll through Comiket (a -huge- convention held in Japan annually, displaying fan art and stories, among other things) and you'll find hundreds of doujinshi that use characters and ideas from anime series. Attempts to ban -that- would cause the company to become alienated from its fan base, hurting its sales. It's -really- not worth it for the companies, especially since you pretty much have to have seen their product to appreciate a fan-created derivative work. US (and other international) authors have the added protection of language; few of the creators that -could- take personal offense to anything that gets written will ever encounter a US-created fan fiction, and even fewer understand English. ^_^ 4.14 Anything else that we need to know? YES. If you live in Canada or Australia, you're essentially screwed in this respect. The "moral rights" code of both countries' copyright laws seem to apply to this sort of situation, meaning that the original author could object to anything that he finds objectionable about the use of his work. US law has no corresponding clause. (Well, okay, it does, but it only deals with one-time art productions. Can't be applied to anime.) 4.2 What about "novelizations"? Since a novelization is, in essence, a direct transcription of an anime, it technically falls under the strict definition of "derivative work" and is thus illegal. 4.3 Somebody's infringing on my fanfic! What can I do, legally? Damn little, if it includes any characters or elements that are not original. While it's easily permissible to create fan fiction, you're not going to have any success in copyrighting it. In this situation, good luck. Of course, infringing on somebody else's fanfiction idea (in this case, we're referring to outright plagiarism, or writing under the aegis of somebody else's series) is considered very dirty pool; check the "ethics" section. 4.31 My fanfic is one hundred percent original, and somebody's infringing on it. What do I do? First, register it with the Copyright Bureau. This involves sending them a couple of copies for the US Library of Congress, a form, and a filing fee. You can proceed without registration, but the case will get stalled until the registration goes through. Then, take the sucker to court. If you're not a lawyer, you can hire one. Of course, that costs a lot of money... it's really not worth it to pursue legal means. (If your fanfic is one hundred percent original... why do you call it a fanfic?) 4.4 What about scripts of anime shows? Hrm... I revised this after taking a closer look at the Berne Convention text. Basically, it says that the original rights-holder does retain all rights to works derived directly from a cinematographic source, in translation or however. That would seem to make script distribution illegal, as well. (However, there's some contention on this point...) You can always write your own, of course. 5.0 LEGAL ISSUES/Related Material 5.1 What about CDs? No, you can't copy a CD full of anime songs either. @_@ Unless you're making a personal copy onto tape for use in your car or such, and even that's touchy from a legal perspective. 5.11 What about Son May? This has touched off a few flame wars all by itself... 5.111 What -is- Son May? Son May (SM) is a Taiwanese company that produces anime CDs. Taiwan, unlike Japan or the US, is -not- signatory to the Berne Conventions, meaning that the local government does not respect the copyrights of other countries. SM takes advantage of this to make CDs full of music without paying for the rights. 5.112 So, is that why SM CDs are so cheap? Yup. They can sell a CD for physical duplication cots plus advertising plus a healthy markup and still undercut their competition by a lot of money. 5.12 Aren't SM CDs legal? If you live in Taiwan, yeah. 5.121 I don't live in Taiwan. Are they still legal? Nope. The moment that CD leaves Taiwan, it becomes subject to local regulations about such things, and the Berne Conventions doesn't allow for copies made in a country outside the Berne Convention. Basically, the moment it enters the US or Japan, it becomes an illegal copy. 5.13 I see SM CDs for sale. Aren't they illegal? Yes, they are. Most conventions ban the sale of Son May CDs for that very fact. Many reputable stores don't carry them, either. 5.131 So, why does the store sell them? They're cheap. You can get the same songs for a lot less money. A few stores take the SM product and sell it at the normal price, making an obscene profit. 5.14 Why don't the Japanese companies close SM? Son May operates in Taiwan, and what they do is legal there. 5.141 Why don't the Japanese companies crack down on the sale of SM CDs in countries that -aren't- Taiwan? Too expensive, really. The legal costs would exceed the cost of lost sales. 5.2 What about bootleg products, like models and toys? Well, duh, they're not legal either. 5.21 How can you -tell-? Usually, a legal product will have some kind of copyright information on it somewhere. If it doesn't, it's likely a bootleg. Also, the price can be a good indicator. If most wall scrolls sell for twenty bucks and the one you're looking at is only three, it might be a bootleg. This can be difficult; I've snagged a couple of items myself only to realize that they were bootleg (mostly posters and the like). 5.3 What about Hook-ups? What they do is -barely- legal, and several companies could probably win in court if they bothered to complain. 5.31 What -is- Hook-ups? They make skateboard apparel. In particular, we refer to their T- shirts, which contain barely modified images of anime characters. 5.4 What about anime music MP3 files? No, they aren't legal, except for demonstration files found on the company's page. Not that any of them enforce that, of course. 6.0 PRACTICAL LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS 6.1 So, if I break the law, am in trouble? Well, this highly depends on whose toes you step on. If you violate the copyright of an American anime company (specifically by copying their tapes or fansubs of their titles), you are much more likely to be caught, since the American companies are smaller and can work with the US legal system with ease. By contrast, doing the same to a Japanese company will likely get no response at all. Incidentally, what -could- happen to you isn't pleasant at all. If you get caught with illegal copies of tapes, the law can confiscate and destroy them. If you get caught -making- copies of tapes, the law can confiscate and destroy the tapes, your VCR, your genlock, your computer, and anything else involved in the production. Fansubbing isn't the safest hobby, neh? You can't get thrown in jail for making illegal copies. The fines can get large, though. The company has a choice of (a) recovering all of your profits plus actual damages, or (b) going the lump-sum route. 6.11 What does (a) mean? Basically, the company can say, "He was paid (x) dollar amount to make these copies; we want (x) dollars." The unlucky pirate then has to prove that he had expenses, like purchasing tapes and such, and he has burden of proof. (Moral of this story; don't do it for profit, for God's sake, and save your receipts. ;p) 6.12 What does (b) mean? Proving actual damages against a fansubber that ostensibly doesn't work for profit can be tricky; usually said fansubber won't have records of how much he's raked in over time available to the court anyway. ^_^ So, the court has the option of levying a fine, based on "what it considers a just amount" of at least five hundred dollars and as far up as the judge feels like, up to twenty thousand dollars or so. (This information comes from a quick shufty through Cornell's online law library.) 6.2 So, if I restrict my bootlegging to Japanese-only stuff, I'm safe? Not entirely. The companies are free to enforce what they want to enforce, as Gainax demonstrated with their policy on Web page pictures and Sony's recent focus on Rurouni Kenshin fansubbing. It's just that the vast majority of these companies choose not to enforce their copyrights in the US. 6.3 What's this Berne Convention that you refer to? The Berne Convention is basically an international treaty on artistic copyright. It extends copyright protection to works produced in any member country of the Convention. The US and Japan are both members. A full text can be found at http://www.wipo.org/eng/iplex/wo_ber0_.htm. 6.31 What's that -mean-? Essentially, it mandates that the government provide the same level of protection for foreign-produced works as for domestic ones. This is -important-, folks. What it means is that the US government is obligated to include the Japanese creator of your anime in local protections, and thus violating their copyright in the US is a violation of US law. This does make things a bit simpler to understand... when you're in the US, it doesn't matter whether something's permissible under Japanese law, since only US law is in force. But that law is in force equally for foreign and domestic works. 6.4 So, if I break the law, am I a bad person? That's a highly subjective question, and the topic of the next few sections. 6.5 Why isn't any of this stuff under the "fair use" provision? US law restricts "fair use" to educational or archival purposes in almost all instances. You could theoretically justify it if you were doing it for a university class in Japanese Animation, specifically for demonstration purposes. Of course, it's a -hobby- to the rest of us, and not covered. 6.6 Any other considerations? One point was raised by KJ Karvonen, and it bears repeating here; you can get sued for anything. Really. Basically, all this means is that you should avoid getting people at the related companies ticked at you. If you do something that annoys them, and it’s barely legal (or even completely legal), they can STILL sue you. Sure, they might lose the suit, but in the meantime you’re out a lot of money for your lawyer, not to mention time and stress involved. This is probably the most important rule to keep in mind while indulging yourself in anime. A lot of the companies involved are very tolerant about the occasional infringement in the pursuit of the glorification of their products, such as the existence of image galleries and the like. When they’re not, however, remember that they don’t have any particular reason to -be- tolerant. If you receive a cease-and-desist letter, then it’s definitely in your best interests to cease and desist! 7.0 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS/Videotape 7.1 Copying of material available in the US This involves borrowing and copying, or renting and copying, and especially selling copies of tapes that are available in the US market already (i.e. you can go buy one, or at least mail-order it somewhere.) 7.11 Arguments: Why it's permissible Well, anime is expensive, and not everybody has thirty bucks a tape for a thirteen tape series. (I know, it's a lame argument, and if you can think of another one, send it in!) Some people are anarchists and don't respect copyright period. Heh. 7.12 Arguments: Why it's objectionable If you copy a commercially available tape, you can't claim any reason for doing it other than plain old cheapness. The companies are free to charge whatever price the market will bear, and if that price is out of your budget, you can always adjust your budget. (Get a job!) In addition, if you have a bootleg copy of a tape, you're probably not going to buy the thing when you get enough money to afford it. Thus, you're taking sales away from the US companies, reducing their ability to make new titles available. (This is a bad thing.) 7.13 General consensus Nobody tries to defend this practice. It's just plain greed in action, and "I'm poor" doesn't justify what amounts to theft. 7.2 Fansubs This is the second-most flame-inducing topic in anime fandom, aside from "sub vs. dub", so I'll try to break it down into small bits. Note that I'm arguing some points on both sides; read the headers to avoid confusion. 7.21 Justification for fansubs - why they're okay. A fansub of an anime that isn't available domestically is not directly hurting sales of that anime, as there is no English-language version for fansubs to displace. In addition, the promotion of the fansub gives the series a boost in popularity, making it more likely to be released in the US and also increasing sales of related products. (One is very unlikely to purchase a Fushigi Yuugi poster, for example, without having seen Fushigi Yuugi.) Also, market losses due to fansubs are very small, since the community that has access to them is a tiny proportion of the potential market. 7.211 Don't fansubs displace import LD sales? This is possible; however, people who are willing to import Japanese LDs usually are not interested in having an American translation handy, or are willing to go to the trouble to obtain a translation, and the quality doesn't compare. Any losses here are so negligible that they can be safely ignored in a discussion of ethics. 7.212 If fansubs reach such a small amount of the market, how can they affect what is and is not released? Fansubs are most likely to be encountered among "otaku", very hard-core fans of anime. This is also the market segment most likely to communicate their desires for new series to the American companies. Thus, a small amount of otaku commenting on the high quality of a series can cause the series to be released by one company or another, where it will sell to the general market. Anecdotal evidence abounds for this argument. Does anybody really believe that Pioneer would have released Fushigi Yuugi if there had been no fansub of the series? 7.22 Justification against fansubs - why they're not okay. First, the creators are not making -any- money off of a fansub. This isn't promoting their work and won't lead to the creation of more and higher-budget anime. Second, it reduces the market for an eventual release, as cheap people won't buy the American version of an anime if they have the fansub. This leads to fewer series being released in the US (a bad thing). Third, it encourages a "bootlegger" mentality among fans. Total demand for anime is reduced as fans get new series without spending money, harming the American companies even more. 7.221 But I'm not buying the Japanese version anyway; I can't understand it! You could always get a legit Japanese copy and a script, or a legit copy and a fansub. That's beside the point; the creator still isn't making any money. This is the strongest of the anti-fansub arguments. The distinction between theft and piracy is pretty thin, and fansubbing is itself very close to piracy. Some people equate the two (or even the three.) 7.222 What if you buy the US version for all of your fansubs, once it becomes available? This is a laudable ideal, and what I adhere to personally. Most fansubbers will tell you to do this. Of course, not everybody will, and the people who won’t aren’t going to forgo getting fansubs. Thus, the availablility of the fansub hurts the market despite your particular responsible behavior. That argument is aimed closer to "don't make fansubs" than "don't get and watch them", though. 7.223 What do you mean, "bootlegger" mentality? Say you have the hankering for new anime. You can (a) go get Key: the Metal Idol from the store shelves for twenty bucks a tape, or (b) go get Rurouni Kenshin from the Shinsen Gumi fansub group for eight bucks a tape. Which one are you more likely to do, huh? As an example of this... Maison Ikkoku, released by Viz, has a -widely- available fansub, which was available years before the commercial variant. Its market demand has been reduced by this; a lot of people that would have watched the anime don't -need- to, now. They've seen it all already. (Me? I buy the manga.) 7.23 So, is it bad or not? This is a subjective value decision... it matters how much you value the arguments listed above. For example, one particular friend of mine detests fansubs and won't even watch them (much less get one), because he believes that the creators deserve to be compensated for their work. He's adamant about this, and I don't blame him; it's just where his ethics are. Me, I think the whole thing is a wash; all of the arguments are true to one degree or another, and there is no "definitive" answer in this case. 7.231 How can fansubs "increase demand" (the Fushigi Yuugi effect) and "decrease demand" (the Maison Ikkoku effect) at the same time? That doesn't make any sense. Sure it does. More people will have heard of the series, encouraging them to purchase it themselves; but more people will also -have- the fansubs and thus be less likely to purchase it commercially. Both effects are operative -at the same time-, although it's impossible to tell to what degree. 7.24 What's definite about this, then? Well, there are a few things that are universally covered under "bad idea". First, getting a fansub of a series that is subtitled in the US is considered in poor taste, equivalent with pirating the American release. (Also a lot dumber, unless you have problems with the particular translation used by the US company. Why sacrifice quality otherwise?) Also, making money off of fansubs is considered rather crass. This includes just about any commercial use: sales, rentals, what have you. Our local anime store, Planet Anime, tends to show fansubs in the store (and I've spent more than one afternoon on an extended shopping trip because they were showing something that I hadn't seen), but won't rent, sell, or duplicate them; as far as I can tell, this kind of behavior is fine. On the other end, owning both a legitimate Japanese copy -and- a fansub is considered acceptable by virtually all parties. Slightly less acceptable, although still well above the level of "pirate", is owning both a legitimate American copy and a fansub. 7.241 Don't fansub distributors "sell" fansubs? Not all; many are willing to place requests on tape sent from the requester, and send the tapes back in an enclosed mailer. No money changes hands here. It gets tricky when you consider a distributor that charges a fee per tape. Generally, it is considered more ethical to charge so that no profit is generated; i.e. the charge covers cost of tape and postage, and no more. Some fansub distributors include VCR maintenance, which is ethically questionable; fansubbers that include cost of the original source material are on even more shaky ground; and charging more than cost period is downright bootlegging. Not everybody sees a moral distinction between these states; some people couldn't care what profit is being made, so long as they get their tape, while others see any fansubbing as ethically wrong regardless of the particulars of profit. 7.25 What do I do with a fansub when an American version becomes available? Ethically, you -should- buy the American version. If you like the product, support the company, right? Having an American version (dub or sub) plus fansub is considered ethical in much the same way that having a Japanese version plus fansub is; in both cases, the creators have been compensated. This also has the effect of promoting the release of that particular type of anime in the US. Your purchase promotes the release of the kind of titles that you like and discourages the release of the kind of titles that you're not buying. It is -not- ethical to keep your fansub if an American version is released and you do not (or cannot) purchase it. In this situation, ideally you blank the tapes and use them for something else. 7.251 Can I give them to a friend instead? >_< That's against the point; you're just limiting the market further. In fact, that's even worse than keeping them yourself! 7.26 What about Sailor Moon? This is an interesting circumstance; there -is- no subtitle of Sailor Moon available in the US, and the commercially available tapes have been heavily edited for content. Still, fansubs of SM are more shaky, ethically, than normal (after all, you -can- get an English version commercially!) but not so much as outright bootlegging (after all, you -can't- get a subtitle). Also, you run a much higher chance of running afoul of DIC's legal department. There are similar issues with Dragon Ball, I am told, but as I'm not a fan of either SM or DB, I don't know the particulars. Anybody have information on this? 7.27 So what's the big fuss over? I have no idea; it's an odd thing to get emotional about. A lot of people do have a very strong (biased?) opinion on both sides, and at the drop of the hat are prepared to "argue" the point loudly and with gratuitous insults for the other side. As far as I'm concerned, fansubs can't be doing -that- much damage, or the Japanese companies would be a bit more concerned about it. (After all, it's not exactly an underground activity any more...) On the other hand, I know a -lot- of cheap people that wouldn't pay for anything if they could get away with it. 7.28 What can I do about it? If you’re going to get fansubs, act responsibly. Buy the US version when it becomes available. Think for a second before providing a fansub to a friend. Are they likely to get a commercial version? If not, you should hesitate to provide them with the fansub. (I’ve lost at least one friendship over this. In retrospect, though, I’m better off; anybody who values my fansubs more than me isn’t much of a friend at all.) 7.3 What about fandubs? Generally, what holds true for a fansub also holds true for a fandub. 7.31 And parodies? And parodies as well, although most parodies aren't freely distributed anyway. (It's a shame, really... "Roadbusted", a Riding Bean fandub parody from the great C-ko, is hilarious.) Parodies are generally considered more acceptable than fansubs, though, due to the differing content. 7.4 What about music videos? I have -never- heard anybody complain that a music video was unethical, so long as you don't try to sell it to somebody as your own stuff. 8.0 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS/Images 8.1 Is it ethical to use images from an anime for your own use? Sure, so long as you're not making money from it. Most fan uses of pictures just promote the anime, really. 8.11 But it's illegal. Sometimes. Ethics and legality don't have to coincide, after all. 8.2 What about fanart? Heh. This depends on the position taken by the creator of the characters; and, considering that virtually all anime creators have no objections to fanart (or at least none that they voice), it looks to be fine. Fanart of another fan's creation should be preceded by a request for permission, however. 8.3 What about using other people's fanart? This should be done with permission only. After all, it's a lot more personal for the fan artist; in exchange for their hard work, you should at least ask them before posting their image. (You're likely to get it, although you'll probably have to put the artist's name somewhere.) 8.4 What about hentai (sexually explicit) pictures of characters? This generally coincides with your views on pornography in general. I say, if you don't like it, don't look at it, but there's nothing particularly wrong with creating it. 8.41 Even depicting children? Given the choice between a pedophile seeking pictures of immature anime characters or seeking pictures of immature real people, which would you pick? 8.42 Even depicting misogynistic acts? Some people -like- that stuff. 8.43 That's disgusting. Yep. 9.0 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS/Fan Fiction 9.1 Is it ethical to write fan fiction? Um, yes. It just promotes interest in the series. 9.2 What about fics with different characterization than normal? So long as you -realize- this, yes. Heck, I wrote a chapter of Magical Girl Hunters, where the protagonists going around killing magical girls willy-nilly, and wouldn't Naoko Takeuchi or CLAMP faint dead away at that? Honestly, views differ on this, but it's no more wrong to write a happy Evangelion story or a dark Irresponsible Captain Tylor story than it is to put your feet up on the table in your own home. Sure, a few people find it distasteful, but the majority couldn't care less. 9.3 What about hentai (sexually explicit) fics? Oddly enough, these are more popular than conventional fics. 9.31 You know, you're awfully permissive of that kind of thing. Yeah, I've got a libertarian bent when it comes to free speech. Seriously, if you object to pornography, you've got many worse things to worry about than hentai fan fiction. 9.4 Another author wrote a good story and I want to (use one of the characters/write another chapter/write a lemon side-story). You should always ask first. Usually, if the author agrees, he or she will help you with the fic. 9.41 What if they say no? Then you shouldn't use their idea. Write your own stuff... well, write your own fanfiction, anyway. ^_^ 9.5 Somebody is stealing my idea/character/plot device/story! Well, you should probably post to rec.arts.anime.fandom and inform people about it, although you'd better have a good justification that it was yours. 9.51 Like what? Ideally, a neutral third party has already seen your fic and can compare the two, backing up your claim. If you posted the fic to rec.arts.anime.creative, it will already be in the archive and thus easy to prove yours. 9.52 Well, I hadn't shown mine to anybody yet. How can you claim it was stolen, then? Hurry up next time. 9.53 What can I do then? Wait as public ridicule is heaped upon the offender... unless the copy is better than the original, in which case you might be in for it yourself. Be warned. 9.6 What about MSTs? These get tricky. An MST is a deliberate parody of a fic, and it's usually pretty harsh for the author. If you have no respect for the author already, go ahead and post it; he'll be more ticked off by the abrasive content than the fact that you didn't ask, first. Be careful, though; if other people disagree with your view of the author's ability, then you'll look pretty crass. If you do respect the author in question, ask. If you ask and they say no, -don't- post it anyway. That's just downright rude. 10.0 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS/Related Material 10.1 Is it ethical to buy SM CDs? Not unless you live in Taiwan. (Not really if you -do- live in Taiwan, for that matter, but you have to have some kind of compensating perk for living there, I figure.) 10.11 What if I can't afford the actual CD? Go make more money. Lack of funds does not justify piracy, or what amounts to piracy. 10.12 What if I can't -find- the actual CD? There are a lot of mail-order companies that are more than willing to help you. IF all efforts fail, THEN you can probably purchase the SM CD, but don't stop looking for the regular version, and purchase it when you find it. 10.2 What about other bootlegs? This depends heavily on what we're talking about. I personally wouldn't pick up anything I knew to be bootleg, but then again I have several high-quality sources for anime-related products; some things, like wall scrolls and posters, just don't work well through mail order. In those cases, it's probably all right to buy a bootleg. Look for the real stuff, though! 10.3 What about MP3s? If you like the music from a particular anime, hunt down the CD. It won't take up space on your hard drive and is a lot easier to run in the background on your computer. ^_^ 11.0 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Everything in this section is off-topic for the FAQ; however, none of it is included in the rec.arts.anime.misc or rec.arts.anime.fandom FAQ files, and people need to -know- this stuff. 11.1 What about posting to rec.arts.anime.misc or rec.arts.anime.fandom? First, don't flame people. It might feel good, but it just ticks people off. Especially -me-. If you have to (and I've done this a few times), write a scathing reply and don't send it. You'll enjoy the sense of moral satisfaction. 11.11 But they're being idiots. So? 11.12 Can't you flame idiots? You -can-, but it's not polite and other people will get mad at you. Remember the friend I mentioned earlier, the one that hates fansubs? He's a fairly intelligent and knowledgeable fellow, but he's held to be a hothead because he engages in constant shouting matches over Usenet. It's not an effective way of getting your point across. 11.13 Who is this guy, anyway? If you can't guess, you don't want to know. 11.2 What else about posting? Don't post spoilers without a warning. 11.21 What's a spoiler? Essentially, anything that will tell somebody what's going to happen at the end of an anime if they haven't seen it yet. It's roughly analogous to going into a mystery movie and shouting "the butler did it!" during the opening credits. 11.22 What's a spoiler warning? Either something in the subject line saying "Spoiler", or a bunch of blank space after a quick warning in the body itself, so somebody that clicks on it won't automatically get horribly spoiled when trying to read the warning. Ideally, you use both. 11.23 Doesn't that consume bandwidth? A few bytes. I participate in GRIT; bandwidth is not an issue. 11.3 Is there anything that I shouldn't post? Well, far be it from me to play net.cop, but so long as you asked... Think twice before posting anything along the lines of the following. - a sub versus dub argument (especially one like "dubs suck!") - a request to trade or buy or sell fansubs of commercially released product - an ad (they go in rec.arts.anime.marketplace) - a picture or other binary file - anything in HTML - an insult of another poster or an industry figure (as opposed to a criticism - you should know the difference) - a fanfic, outside of rec.arts.anime.creative 11.31 Why no "subs vs. dubs"? It's been hashed to death. If you absolutely must see some of the past threads on the issue, go look at Dejanews. It's just unpleasant to watch. 11.32 Why no ads? There's a separate newsgroup for those. 11.33 Why no binaries? There's also a separate newsgroup for those, and they tend to be -huge- when compared with text messages. 11.34 Why no HTML? Not everybody has an HTML-capable newsreader, and HTML code in a text newsreader is an unreadable mess. If you must impress people with your HTML-type prowess, make a web page and post a link to it. 11.35 Why no fanfics? Because they're -also- blippin' huge, compared to the normal post. Send those to the moderators at rec.arts.anime.creative. 11.351 How do I do that? Just post to the group; it does it automatically. 11.352 I don't want to wait on the moderators. Well... put the fic up on a page and post a message (preferably in rec.arts. anime.fandom, where it's most on-topic) with a link to the fic.