Two New License Announcements!
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@Vũ-Thế-Sơn I completley agree with you guys, but there is something I want to say. The "illegal" sites you are mentioning actually bring us Light Novels and Mangas which has/had no offical translation in english, I see this as an act of selfless and kind service to us English speaking fans. Though it may be true that the author gains no profit in it directly, he gains publicity and recognition from around the whole world. These Light Novels may even become so popular that they may get offical translations(Grimgar is a beautiful example of it). Others even buy the raw LN after have enjoyed it on one of "these" websites just to suport the author. I mean, no one losses anything in it, right?... Ah but if you were talking about websites posting illegally offical translations please just ignore my post.
"I drowned a fish, killed a dead tree and made medicine sick"
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@ImIlyaz I agree with you. If I didn´t read a couple of manga or LN on the web sites, I will not buy so many books now. The thing is, that in case of some companies like Yenpress, it simply takes too long to reach vol 20 for example, because their slow production. So yes, I read the series on the web but I also buy the book when it comes out. J-Novel translation is pretty good and they are fast, so I don´t hesitate to buy a book too. I also will invest in paperbacks, Grimgar for sure and waiting for Arifureta. I also buy a few LN from japan amazon, even when I can´t read them, but I like to show at least some support to the author. The best thing is ignore ppl that blame web translations and ppl that blame official release, because you always find a trolls on the forum. Just support what you love!
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@sparhawk6 well said
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@ImIlyaz My sympathy for fan-translations drop when they're the web novel versions. I tend to look at web novel translations as a sign of laziness and greed when they even have donation buttons. I'm absolutely thankful for translations of light novels as they introduce me to great series and I even import quite a few raws to the point where I'm behind on English releases. However, there are way too many fan-translators out there that only do web novel versions while asking for compensation which just taints the whole original good will that fan-translation is based on.
Edit - Fixed typo.
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@Aruseus493 sorry but I don't quite seem to get you. First of, web Novels are the (internet) free non edited and orginal part of a light Novel, right? Im not 100... So what's wrong with fan translators bringing us Web Novels to us readers for free? Though I've never read one (except for Mushoko Tensei) no one losses anything right? Correct me if I'm wrong
"I drowned a fish, killed a dead tree and made medicine sick"
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@ImIlyaz A lot of people seem to have the mistaken impression that it's OK to translate something someone else posts on the internet for free and post your own translation without the original author's permission.
Under Japanese and international copyright law it is not. Whether you sell it or give it away for free, you still own the copyright to your original writing, and you have the right to control how derivative works are created and sold or distributed, which includes translations. Unless the fan translators have the explicit permission of the author they're not allowed to translate it and post it online for others, and they're especially not allowed to earn any money for it.
It's no different than say, if a photographer posts photos online and someone uses one of the photos in a magazine without the photographer's permission, maybe adjusting some of the colors or cropping a little bit. The photographer can still sue the magazine publisher for use of the photo without permission, even if the magazine is given away for free.
The web novel sites like syosetsu have very clear policies too, see for example clause 18 of the terms and conditions here: http://syosetu.com/site/rule/
(translation is left as an exercise to the reader.) -
@Sam-Pinansky Indeed, you are right about privacy policy part. But in lots of cases, people will will not give a damn about some WN or LN if they don´t read it before from some fan translator. Believe me, that there is a really big number of people that read fan translations and then buy the books. Or read a WN and then go read an official translation of LN and buy the epub + book. I am not advocate of illegal translations, but I can´t deny, that they actually bring ppl to buy the books too.
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@sparhawk6
I agree that fan translation is an integral part of the ecosystem.
It was like that for anime in 1990-2009 or so too but today? Eventually fan translation won't be required.
Look at what's happening in the Chinese web novel community with qidan. Things are beginning to change but it will take time and successful businesses like us I hope! -
@Sam-Pinansky It will take much, much longer till fan translations will be not needed. You know, there is too much novels and not many companies that actually translate them. Another thing is tempo. 3-4 months per volume for novels that have 20+ volumes is actually a bit pain in the ass. I understand the process that is needed, but still, paperback release is simply too slow. Your translation is not slow, so I am thankful for that, but there is so much good novels... sorry that I say it, but I don´t think so that at this moment you can cover all. I hope so that you are right about your previous statement, but honestly, I don´t see it happen soon. But I can´t wait for your next projects, I hope that you will surprise us nicely. Also, I hope that your paperback releases will be not so slow as yenpress one, but I guess that depends from Sevens Seas too. I seen that they have licensed "Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records" so maybe they have also LN rights that you can use. As I say, there is simply too much good LN at this moment that are wort of translation.
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@Sam-Pinansky I get your point, though I didn't know it was illegal to translate someone's work if he/she didn't sell the material as long as it didn't have an offical translation. Though yoy may be right, I don't see any major disadvantages of fan translations(those without offical translations). Like someone mentioned, it could actually prove the opposite for the author. But the law is the law after all, however, I still root for them until a better solution appears.
"I drowned a fish, killed a dead tree and made medicine sick"
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@ImIlyaz Just to be clear, it's not illegal to translate it, it's a violation of the author's copyright to distribute it publicly without permission. If you're just translating it for your own personal use, that's fine. In the US there's also a concept of "fair use", but that doesn't apply to translation of the complete work. That only covers using small amounts of the original material, etc.
Getting into more complex, but similar, questions is the debate over sampling in the music industry (taking small clips of one song and remixing them into another), which is a lot more complex legal question.
But when you're talking about a full translation of something, that's a 100% definition of a derivative work, and thus the copyright holder of the "original" has the right to control its distribution and/or sale unless they explicitly grant it to someone else.
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@ImIlyaz The point I was trying to make earlier is that all fan-translators have to come to terms with what they're doing, is copyright infringement. What bothers me is that the web novel translators are willfully sabotaging the readers' ability to get quality writing by not doing the Light Novel versions. To me, it's a blatant display of lack of caring about quality as Light Novel versions are edited, have illustrations, and are just a whole tier higher in writing quality than web novels.
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@Aruseus493 it's simply because the light novel releases aren't free and are harder to do mtl with.
Honestly all that's needed is for syosetsu to create some kind of simple legal framework for authors to opt in to that says "I allow my work to be translated into English upon request" and then fan translators can see a list of books that are "ok" for translation and register with syosetsu.
Maybe they can make a section of their website for the English versions too to keep them all in one legal place. -
@Sam-Pinansky thanks for clarifying that. It's just, I believe the fan translators are doing this out of goos will. Like I said, right now, I'll keep supporting them until a better solution appears
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@Aruseus493 oh now I get you. "Why translate the WN when there is a LN?". I do agree with you, but I don't think we can blame them. In terms of law, they are equally "bad" and they ARE doing it for free
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Is there any chance for Amaburi light novel to be license? I'm desperately waiting for that, please someone pick up that Light novel.
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Can I request for the novel ,”The World Of Otome Game is Tough on Mobs”, I would like to buy the English version of the e book. Thanks
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@cheap88 this is a long dead thread, so you should probably upvote and comment on the official recommendation thread to show your support.Though be warned that Micromagazine has already turned down J-Novel in the past.
https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/1295/being-reincarnated-into-this-otome-game-world-is-damn-tough-for-a-male-mob-character-ln
