TeamFourStar Removed from YouTube

[nebs66]

So Toei has flagged TeamFourStar & removed them from YouTube for copyright infringement. Yeah, it sucks. Especially since what TFS is actually doing with the DragonBall Z footage doesn't actually qualify as infringement. Sure if you look around on YouTube, you can find tons of fansubbed eps of DBZ all over. But when a parody series gets

Comments

[giapet]

Important to bear in mind that Japanese copyright law is very different from American copyright law. Specifically, they don't have the same "fair use" laws, which in the US stipulate that you can use small amounts of copyrighted works for the purposes of parody, which is what would protect this sort of material.

The US is party to the Berne Convention, which doesn't appear to specify what counts as "fair practices" but leans heavily in favor of countries with more strict laws. As such-- and I am not any kind of lawyer, believe me --it may be in violation of international copyright law to reproduce the amounts of animation done here.

Or it might not. However, I have had manga publishers come and ask me to take down any scan I've done of the interior of a manga, because in Japan it would be considered a violation of copyright law to reproduce anything other than the covers. That doesn't necessarily mean I was in violation of anything, I took them down as a courtesy (it would get the PR people in trouble as much as me)-- but it gives you a sense of how uptight Japanese companies can be on the matter.

[nebs66]

Thanks for the clarification. You've really done your homework on the subject. ^^

So does Japan's different views on fair use mean that licensed material from Japan can't be used worldwide, or just in Japan? In other words, did Toei remove the DBZ Abridged eps because they didn't want the content available to those who might watch it in Japan, or because no one had the right to watch it? Because if the former's the case, I'm sure they had other alternatives. In the past I've uploaded videos to YouTube, only for YT to reply back saying "Your video wont be viewable in Asia due to copyrights, but can still stay up for other regions." Or something along those lines.

[giapet]

As I said, because I can't find any Berne Convention text that clarifies, I'm not entirely sure which country's "fair use" law would apply, though from what I read I gather a court might find in favor of the heavier protections (or rather, fewer exceptions to copyright protection) of Japan.

That said, I would assume that Japan's fair use laws were originally primarily designed for use within Japan, such as they are. I can't speak to the video that you uploaded, not knowing its content or YouTube's policies (for all I know they were protecting themselves more than the copyright owners' rights). ;)

No, I was only suggesting that, not unlike Americans (who tend to assume that everyone's copyright law is like ours), the Japanese studios are coming from a viewpoint based on their own laws on the matter. I definitely wouldn't presume to understand why Toei or YouTube does what it does ^^;