Stopping Manga Bootlegs…the wrong way!

It is cool to see that some Japanese publishers wants to translate their titles in “Engrish” to stop bootlegging. However, I think they are making a serious mistake as you will read the following news.

TOKYO, April 26 (UPI) — A Japanese publisher says it will post Japanese manga comics online in English for U.S. residents in order to fight bootlegging.

Shogakukan Inc. said by offering an authorized version of the Japanese language comics online, it hopes to limit the spread of illegal copies of its comic books in Europe and the United States, Japan Today said Sunday.

The appearance of the comic copies online mere days after the published works are released in Japan has become a major problem for Japanese manga publishers.

The English versions of popular manga comics will be available on the Web site of VIZ Media, a media group set up by Shogakukan, the Shueisha Inc. and the Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Company.

Shogakukan said the online English versions of works by popular manga artists like Rumiko Takahashi will not be printable for registered viewers. The Web site can only be browsed by visitors in the United States, Japan Today said.

Source: UPI via Akihabara News

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Limiting the region where people can read english manga is a bad idea and it will not stop bootlegging. It is a good thing to translate manga for others but the United States of America is not the only english speaking country in the world. It is the same message for video channels such as Hulu and the rest!

We know that there are some policies regarding international rights and distribution, but many people think that limiting the access by region is a bad business model. If anyone, anywhere can pay a fee to read it, We are sure the bootlegging will be drastically reduced, but with this kind of policies, I am afraid their effort will be in vain.

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