brass2themax said: Actually, that's a very good point about just making SSA/ASS files available. I mean, those are just text files, so technically even if they are meant to be subtitles for licensed raws, I don't think the companies could do anything about that, because you're not distributing their content at all in any way, shape or form. The subtitle file itself, even including the translations, karaoke, and everything directly related to the anime it's meant to be used for, aren't property of the companies that own the rights to the anime. The translations are made by the fans and are completely unofficial, hence their own work, it can only be plagiarism if done word for word, and obviously since said translations are not "released" by the companies in question, because they're done by the fansubbers' interpretations, they are not copyrighted property. Same goes for the karaoke translations and the rest.
I think if fansub groups simply released SSA/ASS files that people could mux on their own with whatever raws they wanted to (and open up Aegisub for a second to simply shift the timings forward/backwards) then they would be truly within the bounds of the laws of pretty much every country out there, and no one could do anything about it.
I can create a subtitle file for a show in another language, and release it by itself, and no one can tell me that that content (in the subtitle file alone) does not belong to me. It IS my property, because the interpretation of each and every line was done by myself, and does not exist anywhere else in an exact match, word for word. So it's not plagiarism, and it's not copyrighted work.
I don't know why all fansubbers don't just do this. Muxing a subtitle file into an MKV is all too simple, even burning in subs to an AVI is child's play. If fansub groups just released the SSA/ASS files, the responsibility would be taken away from them and passed onto the fans to use at their own risk (downloading the raws), then they would not get any C&D's.
Giving a C&D to a group who only releases subtitle files is like giving a C&D to people who write fanfiction. No companies would ever do that. That's basically like saying "Please do not discuss our products".
I like that idea but at the same time I dont know how well the anime fans would take to it lol.
For one the timing would need to be done for the file(s). You cant rely on the fans to figure out how to do it, most are under 13 anyway.
Second, you would need to have instructions on how to combine or include the translation files to the raw. Most people have no idea how to do that and not everyone uses Media Player Classic or VLC.
I think if those two things where dealt with, the idea would work out great. The only down side after that would be finding the high quality raws without having to download 2 or 3 files that may or may not be high quality. Some raws say HD or 900-1080p but turn out to be shitty quality or have scrolling announcement shit.
Just my 2 cents. |