Nan Desu Kon - Anime Ethics |
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These are the goods that draw many fans to anime conventions. The collectibles
and souvenirs found in the dealers' room delight thousands of fans. But
are those goods legal or illegal? Some of the objects in the picture are
bootlegs, knockoffs made without the permission of the company holding
the license for the characters. Bootlegs and counterfeits are getting some
serious attention from the authorities: in late September, the Chicago
Tribune reported that U.S. Customs seized suspected counterfeit Pokemon
cards worth $50,000 that were being shipped through O'Hare International
Airport.
There's a good chance that you've bought a bootleg at an anime convention and not known it... |
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...and these people appeared at Nan Desu Kon to help you tell the difference
between something that's legal or illegal. From left to right, they're
animator Scott Frazier, fan Glenn Schmall, Becca Norman of the Nan Desu
Kon board and Rob Miles of the Bay Area Anime Society.
In general, the panel noted that there are illegal knockoffs of just about anything on the market, from collectable cards (Pokemon trading cards are hot bootlegs right now) to wall scrolls. The panelists said fans should check goods to see if they have all of the necessary copyright information and look closely to see if the quality of the material looks right. |
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Norman's the person responsible for Nan Desu Kon's policy of not letting any bootleg items be sold in the convention's dealers' room. That includes the infamous Son May CD's, an example os which is shown here. Of the two CD's shown here, the SM disc is on the bottom and the legal one is on top with the red edge. SM discs are common at many dealers and conventions, but they're not licensed for U.S. sale. |
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"Anything that licensed in Taiwan, we suspect the artists aren't getting their royalties," Schmall said. "If someone wants to sell you a $20 SM CD, walk away." He was upset that some of the largest distributors of comics and collectibles are distributing bootleg products. |
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Miles noted that some SM bootlegs spread one disc's music over two discs. Others said that the SM copies are missing some of the inserts included with legitimate editions. Miles just doesn't talk about bootlegs, he's taken action. When he sees phony material at cons, he's warned the license holders about the dealers selling the illegal knockoffs. |
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Matt Greenfield of ADV Films wasn't scheduled to be on the panel, but he spoke up from the back of the room when asked about the fansub issue. Greenfield said one of the key reason that licensed, subtitled tapes cost more than dubs is that fansubs cut into the market for commercial subs. "As soon as you make one extra copy, you have eliminated one potential sale," he said. On the other hand, Greenfield said that ADV usually has no objection to the display of fansubs of its new acquisitions being shown at conventions - if the conventions ask first for permission. He noted that the only way that fansubs are legal is if a fan makes one subtitled tape - and never makes another copy for anyone else. Making additional copies is a copyright violation, he said. |
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