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posted by n1 on Tuesday April 25 2017, @12:54AM   Printer-friendly
from the not-unsympathetic dept.

A court in the Netherlands just ruled that making fan subtitles or translations is unprotected by the law. From the article:

A Dutch group called the Free Subtitles Foundation took anti-piracy group BREIN to court over "fansubbing." BREIN has previously been active in taking fan subtitles and translations offline, and the Foundation was hoping a Dutch court would come down on the side of fair use. The court didn't quite see it that way. It ruled that making subtitles without permission from the property owners amounted to copyright infringement. BREIN wasn't unsympathetic, but said it couldn't allow fansubbers to continue doing what they're doing.

Which also means that if the original subtitling is missing or wrong, then you are open to persecution from various copyright monsters if you do something about it. This also negatively impacts the hearing impaired. The laws governing fair use differs between countries. I suspect that virtual bay of high seas ships using flags with full spectrum absorption will be even more popular.

Also:
Unauthorized Subtitles For Movies & TV Shows Are Illegal, Court Rules
Court rules fan subtitles on TV and movies are illegal


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  • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:09AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:09AM (#499112)

    I stabbed a Dutch woman to death and peeled off her face and I wear her skin as a mask on nights and weekends. Is it Fair Use or no?

    • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:38AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:38AM (#499118)

      Oh no the Keystone Korps are after me!!

    • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:27AM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:27AM (#499127)

      Depends. Are you of the peasant class, or an invader?

      If it's the first one, then you're a horrible monster who hurt someone. If you're the second, then you're a shining example of what makes the people who celebrate their status as defenseless prey just so 'with it' nowadays. Expect the NYT to call you a hero!

      • (Score: 0, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:46AM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:46AM (#499132)

        I am poor Turkish boy and I work in donut shop and woman was white as powdered sugar and when I wear her face so am I.

        • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @07:35AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @07:35AM (#499179)

          That's not how dead skin masks work, they turn a rather unpleasent color really quickly.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:43AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:43AM (#499227)

            Is not dead skin I made her pretty face into the finest leather mask.

    • (Score: 2) by Wootery on Thursday April 27 2017, @01:13PM

      by Wootery (2341) on Thursday April 27 2017, @01:13PM (#500660)

      Assuming it's the original face, then no; there's no duplication at play here, so copyright has no bearing in the first place.

      I'd still be wary of submarine patents on your applications of the knife and face, though. Might be for the best that you're posting as AC.

  • (Score: 5, Funny) by Hartree on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:55AM (2 children)

    by Hartree (195) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:55AM (#499134)

    "BREIN wasn't unsympathetic"

    That's the best one I've heard all day.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Rivenaleem on Tuesday April 25 2017, @08:39AM (1 child)

      by Rivenaleem (3400) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @08:39AM (#499194)

      Can we get a line on exactly why they say they can't "allow fansubbers to continue doing what they're doing". We've heard their arguments as to why pirating the whole movie denies them of potential revenue (which is up for debate, I know). But why the subtitle track? Is it because you can only use a subtitle track on a pirated movie and not while watching it on Netflix or from a DVD? How does making a transcription of the dialogue (and important sounds for hearing impaired) constitute a copyright infringement? Does it not fall under the same category as people playing their own version/cover of a song?

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by Immerman on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:04PM

        by Immerman (3985) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:04PM (#499261)

        >Does it not fall under the same category as people playing their own version/cover of a song?

        Pretty much. Playing a cover (publicly) is also generally illegal without a license. There's a whole legal racket, at least in the US, that shakes down bars and other music venues for "protection money" in case any musician performing there illegally plays a cover of popular songs without having the proper license. Get caught without having paid up, and the club gets sued as well as the musician.

        Basically, as it stands now copyright pretty much denies everyone ALL rights to ANY form of copying. Unless there's a specific exemption in the law for your usage, it's illegal.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @08:59AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @08:59AM (#499196)

    That we can sue them for not releasing subtitles in my language?

    Where does this madness end?

    Why do they even care?

    This is like suing people for putting song lyrics on a website. Wtf.

    Absolute BS. My subtitles are a derivitive work. Sue me.

    • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:06PM

      by Immerman (3985) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:06PM (#499264)

      >This is like suing people for putting song lyrics on a website. Wtf.
      Yep. And that's almost certainly illegal too, if the copyright holder decides to make an issue of it.

      >Absolute BS. My subtitles are a derivitive work. Sue me.
      That's the idea...

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:14AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:14AM (#499214)
    BREIN courted all right, I guess.
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:06PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:06PM (#499263)

    Dear Dutch court: no one cares.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @08:54PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @08:54PM (#499570)

      marked troll? for trolling the courts? maybe the marker is the troll. well played sir.

  • (Score: 1) by r_a_trip on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:28PM (3 children)

    by r_a_trip (5276) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:28PM (#499304)
    This is a move to curtail the convenience of "illegal" copies as much as possible. I don't think it will make much difference. Subtitlers already handle "contraband" to do what they do. Now their own work is "contraband". They will become more careful. Sources will shift. Everybody will keep on getting their subtitles with their other "contraband".
    • (Score: 2) by edIII on Tuesday April 25 2017, @04:57PM (1 child)

      by edIII (791) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @04:57PM (#499384)

      Pretty much. Going after subtitles is exceptionally stupid though. They can be applied to perfectly legal backup copies of your own library.

      Considering that I already receive subtitles from the same sources I'm receiving pirated material, I expect nothing to change. What the industry does not understand, or is unwilling to accept the reality of, is that they compete with pirates on a product quality level. Closing the lid on Pandora's Box requires killing the whole Internet, or greatly removing all Freedom from it. Good luck with that BS.

      Piracy offers superior quality because it is a professionally ripped and/or packaged media, available to play on any supported device, and accompanied by whatever extras (subtitles) are desired.

      Inferior product quality is why the industry consistently loses on a daily basis.

      --
      Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 26 2017, @09:16AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 26 2017, @09:16AM (#499905)

        They can, but usually aren't, because they won't be in proper sync and drift.

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:58PM

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:58PM (#499667) Homepage
      You shouldn't feel threatened by something unless you consider it somehow better.Or in otherwords, if you consider your own offering worse.

      Is there a point in paying for an inferior product? Common sense says no.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday April 26 2017, @08:13AM

    by Bot (3902) on Wednesday April 26 2017, @08:13AM (#499898) Journal

    Why are you wasting time making a product better and getting trouble for it? Let them write their own subs, work on something else. Write your own stuff.

    --
    Account abandoned.
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