Cultural Consumer and Copyright: A Case Study of Anime Fansubbing

Abstract

This paper intends to discuss copyright infringement from consumers' perspective through looking into anime 'fansubbing.' Anime fansubbing refers to the participatory consumption in which avid fans copy anime (Japanese animation), translate Japanese to another language, subtitle and release subtitled version on the Internet to share it with other fans, without asking for permission from the copyright holder. The case study of English fansubbing of anime shows that this activity was guided by fansubbers' own ethics that intended to support the anime industry by self-controlling fansubbed anime. Under the advancement of digital technologies and the increased global connectivity among anime fans, however, the existing ethics have become outdated and thus global distribution of anime is further detached from the industry's distribution businesses. This paper notes the importance of consumers' own norms and rules in shaping behaviour of copyright infringement. It raises further questions on the relationship between copyright law and consumer ethics.

Keywords: Copyright, Participatory Consumption, Anime, Fansubbing, Consumer Ethics