Of late there have been a large number of C&D (Cease & Desist) letters being sent to various groups in both the fansub and scanlation scene.

Gonzo especially have been targeting groups that are doing their series. All but one group complied with the notice, one however stated they would keep subbing the new series, Strike Witches. There’s been no official response on this by Gonzo yet,but given how they immediately began legal proceedings against another group for not complying over Romeo x Juliet, it’ probably not a stretch to say they’ll do the same here. Or pass it along to FUNimation to handle.

Speaking of FUNimation, they’re now authorised to protect d-rights properties in the US, and they are. Several groups were recently hit with C&D letters from them regarding several series currently unlicensed and airing. Notably among them is Nabari no Ou, which is gaining popularity in the manga anthology from Yen Press.

Given that a few of the Japanese companies are now moving into self release in the US this is probably going to be on the rise. As more and more of them try to force fansubs out of the market.

Both Gonzo and FUNimation are coming down hard on the fansubbing groups, but at the same time offering their own ‘fansubs’ for downloads. Gonzo are doing it where you simply make a donation for the episode (and I’ve seen some guys paying $75 for an episode of BLASSREITER). Funi are doing the same, offering episodes for around the $1-2 mark depending on the series. Though there is a predomination towards dubbed (BOOOO!!!) versions for FUNi, they’re now starting to offer subbed versions as well.

This is a good move, and it seems to be working out well for Gonzo, who are on their third series offering with Crunchyroll and BOST TV.

ADV has also begun to test the waters, offering it’s Welcome to the NHK on Crunchyroll as well. Though they stopped part way through the series, they have said they will be releasing more. Also their releases are the english dubbed version only, no subs.

Several other anime companies are looking at other versions or making their own. Though they finally seemed to have learnt that fansubs aren’t just going to go away, and if they want to beat them, they have to join them.

Manga has also been targeted as well, Kodansha is in the midst of sending out masses of C&D’s for it properties (one of the groups I edit for occasionally just got hit with one).

Tokyopop has also started to act as an ‘intermediatory’ for a Japanese publisher and is sending out C&D on their behalf. However unlike with anime, there is no accompanying official download versions. Though several publishers are looking at online versions of their licenses.

Also, there’s a strong rumour (not the rumour word there, this hasn’t been officially confirmed as of yet, though I’m a trying!!) that several publishers are forming to issue a joint C&D against Lurk, the largest manga archive on IRC. A Tokyopop rep I spoke to about scanlations said they believed that by removing Lurk, they would deal a large blow to the distribution of scanlations. However they had not set a firm plan on how to handle it, whether to target the IRC Servers themselves, or the owners, and how far to take it. Though he did say it was just a mater of time before some action was taken.

Should they remove Lurk would it have the outcome they’re after??

I think for a short while it will, though it depends on how it’s done. If they target the hosts (IRC Highway) and make it clear they’re holding them responsible for hosting illegal material, then I think Highway will comply and shut Lurk down.

This would only have a short term effect though, as Lurk could swiftly move servers. However if they ties it with targeting the people who own the actual BOTS serving the files, it could be a different thing.

However I can’t see them stopping scanlations out right like that. As many people would just go to the groups chat rooms, or website’s. To do it properly they’d have to target every group, or at least the most prolific, and put a stop on them at the source. As well as targeting sites such as Baka-updates, that list both licensed and unlicensed material.

In the current feeling, simply serving unlicensed material would be no shelter either. As several groups are now receiving notices to stop scanlating their unlicensed properties. Two of the biggest know ones being Hajime no Ippo and Glass Mask.

Sites such as MangaJouho and AnimeSuki will no longer be safe either. AnimeSuki was famously targeted a few years ago by Media Factory and have had them remove all of their property, whether licensed or not. If more publishers follow suit, things could get very rough on the subbing/scanlation scene.

I don’t see them ever stopping it completely though, to do so would require a huge investment of cash, something I doubt they can afford to do. All they’ll succeed in doing is pushing the scene back underground, like it was before.

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