minori – Quo vadis?

Hab’ ich irgendetwas verpasst? Ist heute der erste April?!

Anscheinend hat sich minori (u.a. bekannt für Wind, ef und eden*) zu den Fanübersetzern herabgelassen und mit einen schönen Rundumschlag (um nicht zu sagen einen Roundhouse-Kick) dafür gesorgt, dass es mal wieder Intraweb-Dorama gibt…

Das ganze hat letzten Freitag (23.04) angefangen: Von einer japanischen IP-Adresse, die zu minori gehört, aus wurden im TLwiki die Einträge vom eden*-Übersetzungprojekt gelöscht und durch ein Statement von minori ersetzt. Nach einigem hin- und hereditieren und  einer hitzigen Diskussion zwischen Besuchern (nicht Übersetzern, Administratoren oder dem Besitzer) von TLwiki und dem User mit der minori-IP, wurden die betroffenden durch einen Administrator Wiki-Einträge geleert und gegen weitere Bearbeitung gesperrt.

Am 24.04 hat minori anscheinend eine eMail an NNL geschickt mit der Aufforderung, die Copyright-Verletzungen einzustellen. Darauf hin erschien auf der NNL-Seite eine Umfrage, ob die Übersetzung trotzdem weitergeführt werden soll. Außerdem haben die beteiligten Mitglieder von Sekai Project die Arbeit am der eden*-Übersetzung eingestellt, seitens TLwiki gab es eine offizielle Stellungnahme und die Einträge vom eden*-Übersetzungsprojekt wurden gelöscht.

Heute (bzw. gestern) hat minori die Webseite, die man als Internetbenutzer mit einer nicht-japanischen-IP sieht, um folgenden Eintrag (Übersetzung aus dem Japanischen) erweitert:

2010/04/26 minori

To those of you living overseas:

Sorry for writing this in Japanese.

There are subtle nuances that we could not convey properly by trying to write this in English, so we’ve decided to write this in Japanese.  Please bear with us.

Soon, it will have been one year since we at minori started blocking access from overseas.

It is extremely unfortunate that we have to update this [overseas-facing] page, instead of removing it altogether.

We are updating this page after receiving notice that minori’s software copyrights were being violated overseas.

Works published in any of the signatory countries of the WTO should be protected under copyright in all of the signatory countries.  In other words, minori’s software is protected in all of the countries who are a part of the WTO.

Copyright is a collection of various rights; when playing [a video game] and you install the game from the DVD to a PC’s hard drive, this particular act normally falls under the definition of “replication.”  For those of you who have bought our software, we give you permission for this act of replication if you are in Japan only.  (For why, please see below) This is why minori’s software is “exclusively for use in Japan.”

Furthermore, copyright also includes “translation rights” and “public transmission rights”.

Actions such as translating from Japanese into a different language or porting from one platform to the other falls under “translation right”.  Exceeding the realm of personal use and making available to the public a translated work requires the permission of minori; making available on the Internet a part of or the entirety of our software (when the right to quote a work isn’t applicable) falls under “public transmission rights”, and therefore minori’s permission is required as well.  (For example, this time .sc extension script files were uploaded to a website.  Uploading these files and transmitting them to an indefinite number of people is a violation of the “public transmission right”.)

There are some of you overseas who are making available to the public a translation patch for minori’s software without minori’s permission; this is a violation of “translation rights” so please refrain from these actions.

Whether you want to make publicly available a translation patch for minori’s software or if you want to sell a standalone version of the software, you must obtain minori’s permission for all these cases.  Copmanies and groups who are interested in this please contact minori headquarters in Japan.  We are prepared for negotations (However, only in Japanese).

In order to publish [eroge] software in Japan, it is imperative to have the software examined by the Ethics Organization of Computer Software (EOCS) or an equivalent ethics inspection agency and obtain a proof of legality.  Likewise, there are rating agencies in places such as America, Canada, Europe (including Scandanavia, England and Germany), South Korea, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, so it is necessary to undergo examination by the appropriate rating agency for the country in which the game is published in order to confirm that the game has no legal issues with the laws of that country.  In other countries, the company/group releasing the software must bear all [legal] responsibility.

Let us set legal interpretation and procedures aside and talk more about why we at minori are so cautious about our software being distributed outside of Japan.

Lately, around us, we have been made keenly aware of many clashes of culture between Japan and other countries.  Even if a certain form of expression is fine in Japan, due to a difference in culture, it appears that the same form of expression is considered problematic in other countries.  Unfortunately, we at minori are not familiar with the laws outside of Japan, and we cannot determine whether our software follows the rules and regulations of other countries.

Also, after a little bit of investigation, we realized that there are countries that punish mere possession of problematic forms of expression.

In other words, we at minori believe that there’s a possibility that those of you who posssess copies of our software may face problems.  (Actually, there has been cases of problems due to possession of content in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand that would have been legal in Japan, hasn’t there?)  This is based on nothing more than the fact that minori develops many pieces of software that fall under the R18 rating (Perhaps overseas this is called AO+?) and the law and regulations with respect to these forms of expressions are different in other countries.  (Of course, even if something is rated all-ages in Japan doesn’t mean it will be treated as all-ages overseas.  This has been the case many times with respect to animation)  Thus, if such a problem occurs, minori cannot indemnify users who obtained a translated version that was produced and released without knowledge or oversight from minori, and furthermore coming with no assurances from any other party.  Respecting our rights (copyright) means accepting an equivalent level of responsibilities, since rights and responsibilities are two sides of the same coin.  No matter how a user obtains our work, we at minori want to prevent harm to people at all costs.  This is a rule that we at minori must obey as long as we operate in public society.

We at minori are worried about exposing people who have our software to risk.  In order to provide a safe and assuring environment in which to play [our games], we at minori only have the power to provide this within Japan.  Therefore, if people outside Japan (specifically the English-speaking world) would like to play our games, we believe that a trustworthy third party who can provide assurances is needed.

Each country has their own culture.  In order to respect each other’s culture, various different rules exist.  We’ve been criticized by such lines as “minori are a bunch of foreigner-hating racists,” and we are saddened by this.  We always strive for a world where everyone can be happy.  The right to pursue happiness is something that should be enjoyed by everyone, and this is not something that is restricted by nationality or race.  This has been said many times, but we at minori want to prevent misfortune or harm to come upon those who possess our software.

We and the fans should not bear enmity towards each other.

Our relationship should be one where we all think about how each side can be happy and how to work this within the bounds of previously mentioned rules; this is not a problem based on “inside Japan” versus “outside Japan”.

Lastly, for those of you living overseas, please come visit Japan if you want!  As long as it’s within Japan and as long as you are 18 years of age or older, you can play

minori’s game software without any risks.  There are many shops in Akihabara.  It’s a bit hot during the summer, but it is a good place.  We will be waiting for you.

for many many Overseas fan.

Ich kann nachvollziehen, dass minori die Rechte an ihren Werken schützen möchte… Wobei mir persönlich die “wir ignorieren es, da es dort (anscheinend) sowieso keinen Markt für uns gibt”-Einstellung einiger Firmen lieber ist – wenn es schon keine “Unterstützung” für eine Übersetzung (egal ob jetzt Fanübersetzung oder kommerziell wie zb. bei JastUSA oder MangaGamer) gibt.

Dass die Software nur innerhalb von Japan benutzt werden darf um mögliche Risiken vom Benutzer abzuwenden, passt zwar sehr gut zur japanischen “ich mach meine Sache und möchte bloß keinem Anderen Schwierigkeiten bereiten”-Denkweise (hier ein interessanter Artikel dazu in der Japan Times), riecht für mich in diesem Zusammenhang aber eher nach Ausrede. IMHO will man sich hier vor negativen Meldungen aus dem Ausland schützen (Stichwort: RapeLay).

Daher vermute ich auch sehr stark, dass man sich einen feuchten Kehricht um den so kleinen ausländischen Markt schert, selbst wenn sich ein zuverlässiges Unternehmen findet, dass die Auflagen von minori erfüllt (bzw. erfüllen will).

Und der Vorschlag, dass man doch mal Japan besuchen soll um das Game “ohne Risiken” (für wen?) zu spielen, halte ich für absurd.
Ich habe nicht das Geld für einen spontanen Japanbesuch um ein paar Tage lang ein Eroge in irgendeinem Hotelzimmer zu spielen – von den fehlenden Japanischkenntnissen ganz zu schweigen.

Ich bin ja mal gespannt wo die ganze Sache noch hinführt und vorallem wie NNL reagieren wird…

Update (27.04.10 – 7:13):
Anscheinend hat es jetzt auch das “Yosuga no Sora”-Projekt auf TLwiki erwischt: Moogy, der Betreiber von TLwiki, hat eine C&D-eMail von CUFFS erhalten. Das ist auf jeden Fall schonmal die “nettere” Art seine Rechte zu Schützen…