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Old 05-22-2007, 11:13 AM   #1
Doppleganger
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Bye bye doujins?

Quote:
Originally Posted by insertcredit.com
According to this blog by a Tama Art University lecturer, the Japanese government is apparently considering a revision of Japanese copyright law in order to more effectively curb piracy. Currently, if the copyright holder does not sue the copyright infringer, the law is effectively unable to do anything about it. However, they are proposing to change the law so the police effectively have the authority to make arrests for copyright violation based purely on their own judgment. This means that if this law goes into effect, it has the potential to make 95% of all doujin works illegal (as they tend to draw from popular manga/anime/games for characters), not just Nintendo/Konami/Disney related doujin works.
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Old 05-22-2007, 01:11 PM   #2
Talon87
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Re: Bye bye doujins?

The solution to this, distasteful though it may be, is really simple: parody. I'll show you an easy example ...

For Dead or Alive, the name of one of the main characters is Kasumi, œž , which literally means "Mist" in Japanese. One could easily change her name to some other weather-related girls' name like Yukiko (lit. "snow child") or even something as uncommon as Ameko ›¨å* (lit. "rain child").

For Dead or Alive, Kasumi's fighting style is called Mugen Tenshin Ryuu ( œ§å¹»å¤©ç¥žæµ ) of the Tenjinmon ( 天神–€ ) style of ninjutsu ( 忍術 ). In one phrase, œ§å¹»å¤©ç¥žæµå¿è¡“å¤©ç ¥ž–€ . The meaning of the entire clan's style (Tenjinmon) is literally "Heaven God Gate," so a better translation into English may be "Portal of the Gods of Heaven" or "Gateway to the Gods". Kasumi's specific style of Mugen Tenshin means "Phantom of the Mist" (a special writing for mugen) plus "Way of the Gods". That's a lot for you to absorb, maybe, so just walk away with these two words: mist and gods. So, again, it'd be pretty easy for a seasoned DOA fan to pick up on the following pun: "Phantom of the Shadows Gods' School of the Way of the Gods ninjutsu ", or 影幻天神流忍術天 ¥ž“ . Notice I changed the 1st and the last character. That's it. Enough for it to be completely different, though, and a valid parody.

As you can see, just by doing this (and keeping the characters' physical appearances the same), one can easily say that one is drawing characters inspired from DOA but not the actual DOA characters themselves.

========================================

This all stated, two things:
  1. This sort of parody act, as I said, is distasteful. Nothing competes with a good doujin that actually uses the real characters from the franchise with no trickery in names, looks, or location.[/*b0b97]
  2. Your motive for posting this thread is still valid. I want you to know, I'm not being contrary with you by writing what I did above. I think your fears are valid, particularly from a legal standpoint, as I will go into below.[/*b0b97]

The previous Japanese law placed the burden of finances and time on the copyright holder, but the current law moves that burden over to the shoulders of the copyright alleged infringer. I think this is very painful for the doujinshi movement for several reasons:
  1. Doujinshi circles aren't the sort of people whose pockets are lined with cash. Threats of heavy fines and jail time are serious considerations for them and will not be taken lightly. Many doujin artists will undoubtedly quit drawing famous characters now because of this change in the law. [/*b0b97]
  2. Doujin circles have to consider that, even if they think they have a good strong case and could win in court, it will still cost them time and money. If their jobs aren't willing to allow them to be absent due to the court dates, that's one obstacle facing them. If they win the case but still wind up in the red financially (because of lawyers' fees and whatnot), that's another very real concern. For many people, making doujins is a hobby that provides a quick buck. Why would you ever risk the court costs of $10,000 (let's say) when your doujins only make you $1000 per year? You wouldn't. Even if they made you $10,000 a year, you may still be put off by the fear of how expensive winning the case in court is. And never mind how screwed you'll be if you lose![/*b0b97]
Because of reasons like these, I think we'll see two things happen: (1) a large drop in the number of doujins submitted at this summer's Comiket, and (2) a huge spike in the number of parody doujins which go so far as to change the characters' names, dress, and perhaps even slight modifications to physical appearance.

It will be very interesting to see what Hellabunna and other famous circles do this summer. Tomonobu Itagaki (head of Tecmo, leader of Team Ninja, and long-time creator of the Dead or Alive video games) is famous for having said that "the Dead or Alive girls are like daughters to me" when he was asked how he felt about the DOA:HC hack that allowed gamers to play as a nude Kasumi. Tecmo took the hack's writer to court and beat him mercilessly for all he was worth as a warning to hackers in the gaming community -- don't fuck with Tecmo. Yet for whatever reason, Itagaki has been completely hands-off when it's come to H-doujins which portray his "daughters" in some of the most provocative and extreme sexual circumstances imaginable. Even under the old Japanese law, Itagaki had the authority to press charges, but perhaps he didn't have the time or the manpower to sue every single circle. Under the new law, Itagaki need only make it known to the police that he "does not approve" and they, if they feel up to it, could each file the paperwork (at the taxpayers' expense) and press the charges themselves; itagaki would not even have to formally lift a finger or "give the word," as it were. It'll be very interesting indeed ...

I look forward to this August.
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Old 05-23-2007, 05:56 PM   #3
Lindz
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Re: Bye bye doujins?

ruh roh.

Where will Zun get his ideas for his Touhou characters from if he no longer has the fan stuff to draw from?
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Old 05-23-2007, 08:09 PM   #4
Talon87
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Re: Bye bye doujins?

Touhou is safe, considering it's fan-operated to begin with. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touhou_Project If Team Shanghai Alice finds out that the police are sticking their noses where it doesn't belong and telling good artists "You're not allowed to draw her, she's copyrighted material :P", you can bet that they'll step in and tell the police to back off, saying, "Look, as a doujin soft group ourselves, we understand the desire of fans to run with our characters and put them into their own doujins. And we give them our blessing. Jerks. :P"

Same goes for Type-Moon doujins.

All you need to watch for are (a) doujins which may be suspect to public criticism (like H-doujins) -AND- (b) doujins which portray characters from famous private franchises like Capcom's Street Fighter, Tecmo's DOA, or Sega's Sakura Taisen. Which are a sizable chunk of the H-doujin scene, to be sure.
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Old 05-26-2007, 01:45 AM   #5
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Re: Bye bye doujins?

Good to hear Touhou and TM would be safe. I'm really only into fanart for the most part I just can't stand reading comics on a PC (4komas aside). Companies should be protecting their stuff and all. But if not I don't really see how it is the police or anybody elses business to put a halt to it.
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