Does anyone know if translating webtoons on here is legal? Naver asked Batoto to take it down, but I don't know if the same applies for other sites. And if possible, can you give me a link/pic/anything that says it is illegal (it could be a forum post for all I care).
All I have is http://www.webtoons.com/episodeList?titleNo=64 Which is the only sanctioned English release available, according to my limited knowledge. At the rate they are going (once a week) they will reach chapter 67 in about 11 months, while never catching up to the original.
In principle, scanlation as a whole is a violation of intellectual property in most countries.
It all hinges on whether Naver actually has the English rights to their own manhwa. It may sound strange, but it is not a given: they have to register their series to have the rights in another language, it's not automatic.
Of course, Naver will never tell whether they have gone through the bureaucracy to register their series, although I'd think they have, since they bothered to create an English official release page. When they send a Cease and Desist letter (officially known as a DMCA notice), they assume receiving it is enough for the perpetrators to be scared away and stop scanlating, and take down the scans for fear of a legal lawsuit. Most do, and I would do it if it happened to me. And once you comply, the company drops the subject and the matter never becomes a legal affair.
And of course, it applies to any website: anyone can receive a C&D letter. However, because it would be too cumbersome to send letters to each and every small fry engaging in scanlation work, they target aggregators, which are sites that actually try to profit on scans by selling advertising space, like Batoto. That way, a publisher can strike down many series at one coup, whereas by targeting scanlators directly, they would have to send letters in a case-by-case basis. I know huge scanlator groups like Easy Going Scans have received DMCA notices, but even that is rare.
Batoto complies, but some aggregators are run from servers located in countries with liberal intellectual property law or lax enforcement, and these are pretty much untouchable: they ignore DMCA notices altogether. Examples include Kissmanga and Mangahere, as well as Mangacow, whose leader is famously obnoxious and dismissive of Naver threats.
Of course, some scanlators don't keep sites and upload directly to such aggregators.
The bottom line is that, aside from the strict legality aspect, scanlation is tolerated by publishers (as they would be unable to crack down really hard on it even if they wanted) so long as the scanlators are not too conspicuous for the publishers to think they might be losing money. Greed rules their decision, I daresay.
I'd say that a lonewolf like you, working on a blog without advertising, releasing sized down scans and not making a dime out of it is safe: you're very unlikely ever to register in their radar, as even the aggregators don't usually bother to pick your releases. But that doesn't change the fact, strictly speaking, any scanlation activity is borderline illegal.
Hmm. This is something for me to chew on. My school actually found out about this blog and asked me to see if this was illegal (they don't want their valedictorian college-less because background checks reveal I was doing something illegal).
Actual Law: The Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 is a copyright act that made the US a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. The Berne Convention is an international agreement governing copyright. This law uphold the illegality of scanlations so long as the original producers have rights to their own production as well as language rights.
However, my take on background checks for college is that they only trace criminal activity that has been placed in a lawsuit or been pleaded guilty to. Colleges won't deny acceptance as long as the criminal activity was reported and explained in the application process.
Your scanlation activity would not be placed under radar for background checks so long as you have not been sued for doing so. Nevertheless, you still would not be denied acceptance to any US college under this conviction.
Yeah, if they have a copyright, which I imagine they do, there's nothing you can do. Then again, have you ever heard someone playing a song on an instrument in public? Technically, that violates copyright law as to perform (or your case display) the work publicly, but they're not getting in trouble. There is the Fair Use clause, but I don't know that this would qualify. Then again, this is for the U.S., and I couldn't find anything saying there is an agreement between Korea and the U.S.
If anything you could post them as overlays on the Naver website itself. It forces you to go to the site and that supports the artist I believe. Odd Squad scanlations have been using this method for a while.
For "The Gamer" you can find it on mangajoy, they usually post it in less than a day (sometimes happened to take more). For the legal thing, i'm pretty sure that now it should be illegal, because they are translating it, but I'm not 100% sure. Since you aren't sure either, you should be ok continuing until they don't tell you to stop themselves. If they send you a cease and desist mail, then stop. But you should be ok since you're not making money out of it. It's a controversial matter, since I'm not sure what korean laws say on the matter, and I don't know which apply either (American or korean or which other country you're in). Anyway, as long they don't licence it in your country to sell it (not on internet) I'm confident that you should be ok.
All I have is http://www.webtoons.com/episodeList?titleNo=64
ReplyDeleteWhich is the only sanctioned English release available, according to my limited knowledge. At the rate they are going (once a week) they will reach chapter 67 in about 11 months, while never catching up to the original.
Well, Jin…
ReplyDeleteIn principle, scanlation as a whole is a violation of intellectual property in most countries.
It all hinges on whether Naver actually has the English rights to their own manhwa. It may sound strange, but it is not a given: they have to register their series to have the rights in another language, it's not automatic.
Of course, Naver will never tell whether they have gone through the bureaucracy to register their series, although I'd think they have, since they bothered to create an English official release page. When they send a Cease and Desist letter (officially known as a DMCA notice), they assume receiving it is enough for the perpetrators to be scared away and stop scanlating, and take down the scans for fear of a legal lawsuit. Most do, and I would do it if it happened to me. And once you comply, the company drops the subject and the matter never becomes a legal affair.
And of course, it applies to any website: anyone can receive a C&D letter. However, because it would be too cumbersome to send letters to each and every small fry engaging in scanlation work, they target aggregators, which are sites that actually try to profit on scans by selling advertising space, like Batoto. That way, a publisher can strike down many series at one coup, whereas by targeting scanlators directly, they would have to send letters in a case-by-case basis. I know huge scanlator groups like Easy Going Scans have received DMCA notices, but even that is rare.
Batoto complies, but some aggregators are run from servers located in countries with liberal intellectual property law or lax enforcement, and these are pretty much untouchable: they ignore DMCA notices altogether. Examples include Kissmanga and Mangahere, as well as Mangacow, whose leader is famously obnoxious and dismissive of Naver threats.
Of course, some scanlators don't keep sites and upload directly to such aggregators.
The bottom line is that, aside from the strict legality aspect, scanlation is tolerated by publishers (as they would be unable to crack down really hard on it even if they wanted) so long as the scanlators are not too conspicuous for the publishers to think they might be losing money. Greed rules their decision, I daresay.
I'd say that a lonewolf like you, working on a blog without advertising, releasing sized down scans and not making a dime out of it is safe: you're very unlikely ever to register in their radar, as even the aggregators don't usually bother to pick your releases. But that doesn't change the fact, strictly speaking, any scanlation activity is borderline illegal.
Hmm. This is something for me to chew on. My school actually found out about this blog and asked me to see if this was illegal (they don't want their valedictorian college-less because background checks reveal I was doing something illegal).
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteActual Law:
DeleteThe Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 is a copyright act that made the US a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. The Berne Convention is an international agreement governing copyright. This law uphold the illegality of scanlations so long as the original producers have rights to their own production as well as language rights.
However, my take on background checks for college is that they only trace criminal activity that has been placed in a lawsuit or been pleaded guilty to. Colleges won't deny acceptance as long as the criminal activity was reported and explained in the application process.
Your scanlation activity would not be placed under radar for background checks so long as you have not been sued for doing so. Nevertheless, you still would not be denied acceptance to any US college under this conviction.
Yeah, if they have a copyright, which I imagine they do, there's nothing you can do. Then again, have you ever heard someone playing a song on an instrument in public? Technically, that violates copyright law as to perform (or your case display) the work publicly, but they're not getting in trouble. There is the Fair Use clause, but I don't know that this would qualify. Then again, this is for the U.S., and I couldn't find anything saying there is an agreement between Korea and the U.S.
DeleteIt spreads soo fast...
Deletekissmanga stopped at 55.
mangahere and mangafox 'updated' the chapters october 23.
mangajoy.com/dice_the_cube_that_changes_everything/68
http://mangafox.me/manga/dice_the_cube_that_changes_everything/
http://www.mangahere.co/manga/dice_the_cube_that_changes_everything/c068/
http://www.onemanga.me/dice_the_cube_that_changes_everything/68/
http://starkana.com/manga/D/DICE:_The_Cube_that_Changes_Everything_%28Manhwa%29/chapter/68
http://www.goodmanga.net/dice-the-cube-that-changes-everything/chapter/68
http://www.manga2u.me/dice_the_cube_that_changes_everything/68/
http://www.mangatown.com/manga/dice_the_cube_that_changes_everything/c068/
http://mangasee.co/manga/?series=DICETheCubeThatChangesEverything&chapter=68&index=1&page=1
http://www.mangainn.me/manga/chapter/127591_dice-the-cube-that-changes-everything-chapter-68
http://www.mangabb.me/dice-the-cube-that-changes-everything/chapter-68
Your fine, if they bother you just comply with their demands.
ReplyDeleteThis post has me sweating. Praying that you continue with Dice but will understand if you decide not to.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry- I'll most likely keep posting.
DeleteIf anything you could post them as overlays on the Naver website itself. It forces you to go to the site and that supports the artist I believe. Odd Squad scanlations have been using this method for a while.
ReplyDeleteBatoto makes ad money. Youre dont, so theres nothing to worry about.
ReplyDeleteFor "The Gamer" you can find it on mangajoy, they usually post it in less than a day (sometimes happened to take more).
ReplyDeleteFor the legal thing, i'm pretty sure that now it should be illegal, because they are translating it, but I'm not 100% sure. Since you aren't sure either, you should be ok continuing until they don't tell you to stop themselves. If they send you a cease and desist mail, then stop. But you should be ok since you're not making money out of it. It's a controversial matter, since I'm not sure what korean laws say on the matter, and I don't know which apply either (American or korean or which other country you're in).
Anyway, as long they don't licence it in your country to sell it (not on internet) I'm confident that you should be ok.
Come up with a new anonymous alias and post under that name. :)
ReplyDelete