Fansubbing involves fans translating and subtitling foreign television shows and movies without official permission. While illegal under international copyright law, fansubbers argue it helps promote shows and can influence licensing. Some video streaming sites hosted fansubs, but Crunchyroll became a legal streaming service by removing unlicensed content and negotiating licenses. There is debate around the ethics of fansubbing licensed versus unlicensed shows, and how fansubbers should respond when other sites distribute their work without permission.

1. Fansubbing & Video Streaming
http://getlazy.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/loveshuffle.jpg
Mo Kudeki

2. What is Fansubbing?
• Short for “fan-subtitled”
• Foreign movie or tv show translated and
subtitled by fans

3. Is Fansubbing Legal?
• No.
• International Treaties: Berne Convention
• Translation considered “derivative” work
• Author has right to who translates
• Reproduction and distribution also illegal
• Files distributed via p2p networks
• But consequences are rare (if unlicensed)

4. Fansubber Ethics
• Fansub and distribute works for free
• Only fansub shows unlicensed in the US
• If a show gets licensed, stop subbing and
distributing it
• Claim this helps the industry

5. Video Streamers
• What they do
• How they do it without getting in trouble
themselves
• http://www.mysoju.com/absolute-
boyfriend-zettai-kareshi/episode-11/
part-1/
• Who likes it and who hates it

6. Crunchyroll
• Anime & Jdrama streaming site, founded in
2006 by a few CS/ECE majors at Berkeley
• Used fansubbed content without approval
(mostly of it was copyrighted)
• User accounts were free but site had ads
• Gained popularity, content grew...

7. ...more Crunchyroll
• $4.05 million investment from Venrock in
December 2007
‣ Removed all copyrighted content
‣ Added user subscription fee
‣ Struck deals with Japanese TV companies to
host popular titles like Naruto
✓ PROFIT

8. Reactions by Subbers
• Stop subbing?
• Fear of retaliating
From the STORMY Team Fansub Membership FAQ

9. Open Source Software
• Fansubbed content is copyrighted, but
slightly different from mp3s – user content
• When a show is licensed, users have power
to reject official translations
• “Source” is available as raws
• Similar development process

10. Ethical Questions
• Assuming a show will never be licensed in
the US, is it ethical to fansub it? What
about to sell it? If so, should it be legal?

11. Ethical Questions
• Fansubbers often want to stop subbing
after their work has been stolen by a
streamer. This harms the fans. If they
attack the streamers, they risk being shut
down themselves, which also harms the
fans. What should fansubbers ethically do
in this situation?

12. Ethical Questions
• Do you think what Crunchyroll did was
ethical? Would you start a similar business?

13. Sources
Absolute Boyfriend (Zettai Kareshi) Episode 11 Part 1/3. MySoju. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://www.mysoju.com/absolute-boyfriend-
zettai-kareshi/episode-11/part-1/>.
Crunchyroll - Watch Naruto and Anime Videos Free Online. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://www.crunchyroll.com/>.
"D-Addicts ::View Topic - Streaming Site with Fansubbed Work without Permission." D-Addicts :: Index. Web. 19 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_66651_0.htm>.
"Fansub -." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fansub>.
Gao, Kun. "Crunchyroll CEO: Making Online Anime Pay." Interview. Crunchyroll CEO: Making Online Anime Pay. ICV2.com, 15 Dec.
2008. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/13922.html>.
Hatcher, Jordan S. "Of Otakus and Fansubs." Welcome to Edinburgh Law School, Edinburgh Law School. 2005. Web. 19 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/ahrc/script-ed/vol2-4/hatcher.asp>.
Love Shuffle Banner. Digital image. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://getlazy.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/loveshuffle.jpg>.
"STORMY Team Sub - Membership Rules." Community Center. 19 July 2009. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://
community.livejournal.com/stormy_team/79443.html>.
"Video Site with Unauthorized Anime Gets US$4M Capital -." Anime News Network. 11 Mar. 2008. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://
www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-03-11/video-site-with-unauthorized-anime-gets-us$4m-venture>.