This bothered me for a while myself, and I always thought about it. After reading more about it on AnimeSuki, the pieces started to fall together. Why not teach a lesson today?

What is considered to be licensed anime?

Licensed anime is any series or movie (part or whole) for which the rights to publish the anime in a specific area have been bought. Simply put, if a company buys the rights to put an anime series or movie on TV and/or release it on DVD in the USA (in English), that anime series or movie is considered licensed anime by AnimeSuki. Note that of course it’s also possible for anime series and movies to be licensed in other areas (such as Europe).

Do fansubs sub unlicensed anime making them legal?

Well, really both. Some do, some don’t. If fansubs aimed at only unlicensed anime, you could expect to see lack of good shows floating around. Unless you can interpret Japanese that well to watch them without any subs. Take a look at AnimeSuki’s list of licensed anime, and do the math..

Anime – Licensed Anime + Fansubs with unlicensed anime = What’s not on the list.

Are fansubs illegal then?

We have to admit it: the distribution of fansubs is technically a violation of copyright under the WTO TRIPS agreement. However the TRIPS agreement does not demand that distribution of copyrighted material is a criminal offence unless it is done on a commercial scale. This means it is up to the copyright holder to bring the offender to court. The copyright of unlicensed material is held by the original creator. In the case of anime this usually means the Japanese distribution company. If something is licenced, the licensee holds the copyright and thus the right to sue any copyright infringers within the area covered by the license.

Really, they are legal if you want to keep supporting them and downloading their releases.

I’m a good kid. Where do I go for unlicensed anime?

Well, I’m pretty sure Seito is against piracy especially when it comes to anime. As you can see, the only RSS feed we have is AnimeSuki’s.. AnimeSuki is aimed at supplying unlicensed releases and providing for the fansubs that do.

Does this mean that I should stop watching anime unless I see it on TV/DVD, etc?

Of course not! I would encourage to make the most out of it while you still can and be weary of the choices and the people that you support over those you don’t. At the end of the day, does it really matter who shaped your life? No, you controlled every part of it so it’s all up to you.

Thanks to AnimeSuki for the info and links.

Follow-up:

Animeted Stance on Fansub Releases

Related posts:

1. Anime Bloggers could be Shafted from using Anime Pictures to a large extent; Japan Considers Fair-Use Clause Based on U.S. Copyright Law
2. Anime Vintage: Ontama! Episode Three @ 19:00
3. Animeted Stance on Fansub Releases

Filed under: Anime, epdemon's Blogging