FUNi Talks C&Ds
Most of you probably heard recently about more cease and desist letters sent from FUNimation to fansubbers of series that FUNi hasn’t actually announced, including Nabari no Ou and Slayers Revolution. FUNi just sent out notice to make sure we didn’t think they had actually acquired the license to any of these series, stating that:
We can confirm that FUNimation Entertainment has obtained has obtained an agreement authorizing FUNimation to act on behalf of d-rights and Enoki Films, Ltd. to prevent infringement on specific titles.
The authorization agreement for d-rights is for 5 series in total:
Monochrome Factor
Nabari no Ou
Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn
Bamboo Blade
El Cazador de la BrujaWe also have an authorization agreement for Enoki Films Ltd for Slayers Revolution.
Though these series have not been licensed to a local distributor in North America, it is important to note that the rights owned by Japanese producers are still applicable, and enforceable, worldwide.
Industry watchers and anime fans have long known our stance on the unauthorized distribution of anime, especially prior to localization. The practices of illegal downloads and ‘fansubbing’ are very harmful to our Japanese partners and as part of the longstanding relationship between FUNimation and d-rights and Enoki Films, we have been asked to monitor and take action against unauthorized distribution of these titles. Because we believe that this will benefit the industry, we have agreed to do so.
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because they have done the same thing for Gonzo titles like Romeo x Juliet (though FUNi did end up picking that one up. Hmm.)
Tags: bamboo-blade, d-rights, El-Cazador, enoki films ltd., FUNimation, kateikyoushi hitman reborn, monochrome-factor, nabari no ou, slayers revolution
August 18th, 2008 at 10:40 am
The way this should work is: announce title then send out C&D. The reverse order is toying with our hearts. :P
Then again, where is my Romeo and Juliet? Claymore? Darker than Black? :(
Still missing. Get back to work Funi. :P
August 18th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I am starting to think that anime distributers might be harming the industry.
August 19th, 2008 at 8:29 am
I’m sure part of that stance is true, but at the same time, it also overlooks a hell of a lot, in my opinion. As it is, I’m currently planning to buy “Ookiku Furikabutte” once Funi releases it, but I doubt I’d have picked it up had I not seen the fansubs.
August 21st, 2008 at 10:49 am
There’s no way I’m gonna pay for a region 1 discs (im from europe) + shipping + 22%tax (yup i have to pay that much to my country when ordering animu from the US >.>) for a series that has like 4 fillers in the first 7 eps… Maybe fansubs arent very profitable for the industry, but at least they tell me whethere the series is worth buying or not.
August 21st, 2008 at 10:53 am
@Zenzen: But what about a series that doesn’t come out in region 2 at all? For example, Kaiba– which I doubt will be licensed for a region 1 release. I’m in the process of buying the original Japanese DVDs, because I want to make sure that I’m giving the creators money so that they make more stuff I like, and I doubt I’ll ever get the opportunity to do so via a North American release.
August 21st, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Well I dont really like anime released by NA companies due to several reasons:
- i dont need the DVD (i mean the disc), in most cases I will simply watch the anime once and thats enough for me (and shipping anime to europe is quite expensive), thats why I’m happy about things like FUNI internet channel etc, but that has a long way to go.
- while buying the DVD they charge you for the dub, which i will never use, I prefer JP audio+subs.
- there arent many releases for Europe, and not many stand alone players are able to handle region 1, thus I have to watch them on my CPU.
Buying the original JP release isnt that stupid, tho it still will take me a year or two to be able to understand them well enough ;)
August 21st, 2008 at 2:45 pm
@Zenzen I didn’t necessarily mean to buy the original JP release *instead* of watching the fansub– buying the original JP release effectively pays for you to watch the show, and the fansubs have made it possible for you to understand it. So you’ve paid the piper, as it were, and still get to watch the show you want to watch.
This only remains ethical on the grounds that the show isn’t released legally in your home area, but it IS one (technically illegal still, but IMO relatively ethical) way to pay for the content you’re enjoying.
However, it’s much more expensive to buy Japanese DVDs than to buy North American ones…and not just because of the importation cost @_@ DVDs are expensive in Japan!