So, I got this press release… I don’t really like press releases, though, they’re so standard and boring. Anyway, I got a press release from Bandai that’s carrying some pretty distressing news. Apparently, Bandai has decided that fansubs are damaging to their intellectual properties and will pursue legal action against any group that ignores their threat… I mean warning. It’s worth mentioning that they have no real numbers to prove this and they’re mostly just guessing that there are problems stemming from fansubbing. It’s always troubling because this could lead other companies to follow suit. the part that bothers me the most about this, however, is that many fansub groups aren’t even based in the US and have members spanning multiple countries. Moreover, the licensing houses may never license or distribute the title in countries where these fansubbers are located or for that matter where the people downloading the title are located. I’m not entirely sure about how sue someone in Germany for a license you own in America, but hey, you’re showing a bad face to your potential customers, Bandai. Beyond that, I’ve noticed it’s always the richest companies that seem to get pissed about this stuff.
Ah well, it will be fansubbed anyway. Full release after the jump.
August 22, 2006 (Cypress, CA) Bandai Entertainment Inc. sent out a general notice to the fan community today stating it would be carefully monitoring the market for the creation and/or distribution of illegal fansubs or other pirated copies of all Bandai Entertainment Inc. titles, including the yet to be released title, Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society.
Several fansub sites have publicly announced plans to create and distribute illegal fansubs of Solid State Society following its release in Japan. However, Bandai Entertainment Inc. and Manga Entertainment have secured the exclusive right to distribute this title in the US. The creation of translated versions of Solid State Society is considered an unauthorized derivative and constitutes infringement of the intellectual property rights in the work as well as unfair competition. Furthermore, uploading and downloading of the programs without an official license or explicit consent by the content owner(s) constitutes infringement of copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights, and is an illegal act. Bandai must take steps to protect its investment in the property and will take all measures available to stop the illegal distribution of its titles, including instituting court proceedings. If it is forced to do so, Bandai is prepared to seek statutory damages and/or damages to cover its loss of sales.
“Fansubs, even those not sold for profit, are harmful to our properties and industry overall and we will be watching closely to make sure our rights regarding SSS are not infringed,” said Ken Iyadomi, President of Bandai Entertainment Inc. “We are prepared to take legal action against fansubbers and illegal download and other distribution sites if this notice is ignored,” he added.
Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society will be released by Bandai Entertainment Inc. in 2007.
For more information on Bandai Entertainment Inc., visit www.Bandai-ent.com
I don’t really mind. Then they’ll experience a sudden drop in sales of their shitty figurines. Who the fuck would buy a Kira dumbass figurine if not for the gay anime fansubs? Even in Singapore it’s only aired on a kids channel. Not a fucking person would buy the figurines if not for the fanubs. Apparently Bandai doesn’t get it. I’m waiting for the first studio to declare that they don’t mind fansubs.
Well, you can bet sbbing groups from outside the US will continue to sub. But yeah, in regards to kiddy channels, Bandai doesn’t make a whole hell of a lot of older-people oriented anime. It’s a damn pity how stupid they’re being about all this. Share the love, Bandai. They need to realize that some people just DON’T buy DVDs and that some people ONLY buy DVDs. Moreover, putting out a press release just made a whole bunch of new people start typing “fansub” into google. Can of worms?
It would be pretty great to see Bandais staff when they notice that they would have to sue people all over the world, not to mention the hassle it would take to really sue them all but still, somebody never learns. They just try to look all stirred up & concerned about it, but it’ll eventually quiet down. Or so I hope :D
“Hey Bandai, you sued me so come pick me up from Siberia ok?”
It’s been ages from my legal/law courses but isn’t it pretty hard to even get the country X to extract the sued person or the person showing up just like that in/to America (random court) for example?
Sueing your fanbase?
Goiod move, Bandai. You eally do suck monkeyballs.
Who put you up to it? THe MPAA?
Chronos:
Well, the only reason that the person could be brought to America would be for criminal charges that occured in America. I don’t think you can extradite for civil matters or criminal acts that took place outside of the jurisdiction of your law enforcement agencies. That would be like saying that Swedish citizens, who are not under any copyright laws like ours, have to abide by our copyright laws. Which is totally fucked up. On the flip side, though, there are international laws that countries don’t necessarily HAVE to comply with, but tend to just to keep getting money and support from the US. The RIAA found this out the hard way in Russia when they took on AllOfMP3 for selling music on the cheap, but when they found out it violated no local law, they moved to get the local law changed. But hey, that’s how it works, pitiful as it is. There’s more complicated explanations for all of it, but that’s the jist of it.
Drm:
I wonder who put them up to it. Anime sales in America aren’t really in a place where you should be threatening your fanbase. But then, you make a few Gundams and you think you’re king of the world, I guess.
Bandai just opened up a can of worms.
Fan subbers need not be within the Japanese/US jurisdiction to feel Bandai’s wrath. If any of them live in a nation that signed the Berne Convention, they are still open to the possibility of a civil suit from Bandai.
I say ‘possibility’ because you can’t actually sue someone under the Berne Convention. Bandai can only apply pressure to the respective country’s government and remind them of their obligations under that convention. In order to maintain a good reputation and trade relations with trade partners, most governments tend to be willing to capitulate. You know… Quid pro quo.
Not having a license to distribute in one country doesn’t equate to not having any copyrights at all because copyright protection is granted upon the moment the property is created in a tangible form.
So Bandai has an avenue through which to reach out against a German fansubber through Germany’s legal system on the basis of copyright infringement even when Bandai isn’t distributing the property in question in Germany itself. Whether Bandai has a license to distribute said property in Germany becomes irrelevant from a copyright infringement standpoint.
However, the wheels of the legal machine turn slowly and slowness = hugely expensive where lawyers are concerned. It remains to be seen whether Bandai thinks such suits against a few fansubbers are worth the expense and legal hassle. But Bandai does have considerable assets. It wouldn’t surprise me if they decided that it’s worth the cash to make examples out of a few people.
I agree with the general sentiment. This is a bad PR move on Bandai’s part. They, and many other anime companies, have co-existed well with fansubbers for years. To turn on them now would be like putting fire out with gasoline.
A fire that was more or less contained due to good, honourable relationships between fansubbers and corporations now has the potential to rage out of control.
I thought anime corporations knew better, especially when they have an object lesson in the form of the RIAA. The RIAA has spent millions upon millions every year, bullying the public in their attempts to control piracy. It hasn’t worked!
These guys should owe up to guys like us. Really. We are like advertisements to their products. (¬_¬)
Nuke:
Thanks for the detailed explanation. That’s the stuff I didn’t want to go into. As always, an excellent contribution. YOUDAMAN!
Ronin:
That’s a really good point actually. From the people in the industry I’ve talked to, the fansubbing scene is actually used fairly regularly in making initial recommendations to managers by community liasons and stuff like that. But then, the people who issued the ban likely have no idea where recommendations come from. Plus, people who