Square Enix Threatens Legal Action Against Type-0 Fan Translation

Lumstar · Jul 20, 2014

stanleyopar2000 said:
too soon for what? we know he got some sort of gag order because he's not allowed to talk about it

We don't know what the "false accusations" are. Justified copyright defense is one thing, improperly communicating it is another.

Zero Dozer · Jul 20, 2014

Noting that Square didn't send a C&D. They went to outright sue him.

Subtle Demise · Jul 20, 2014

Zero Dozer said:
Noting that Square didn't send a C&D. They went to outright sue him.

How do you know? And if they got his real name and address and everything to do so, it's his own fault for allowing that sort of thing to be known in today's world of litigious assholes.

the_randomizer · Jul 20, 2014

This is why you never use real personal information on the internet. First name, fine, last name, address, phone number, hell no. Though by this point, the hack is incontrovertibly leaked on various ROMs sites and can be found with search engines. Someone has done, people will do it, and Square Enix's sue-happy lawyers can't put a stop to this no matter how much they threaten. Hate to say it, but SE was better before their merge in 2002.

GHANMI · Jul 21, 2014

the_randomizer said:
This is why you never use real personal information on the internet. First name, fine, last name, address, phone number, hell no.

But did he actually communicate any personal information online? Other than the voice on some videos, that is.
They could have tracked him down resorting to... other more direct, Big Brother-ish methods (Spanish authorities and domain owners certainly would cooperate for a copyright infringement case).

Kane49 · Jul 21, 2014

Zero Dozer said:
Noting that Square didn't send a C&D. They went to outright sue him.

Calling bullshit on that one

DSGamer64 · Jul 21, 2014

Maybe they should do the 3DS Dragon Quest games next, maybe it will force them to get off their lazy fucking asses and translate them.

Subtle Demise · Jul 21, 2014

GHANMI said:
But did he actually communicate any personal information online? Other than the voice on some videos, that is.
They could have tracked him down resorting to... other more direct, Big Brother-ish methods (Spanish authorities and domain owners certainly would cooperate for a copyright infringement case).

You don't need to use your real name to register a domain name and/or web host. You can use a disposable debit card to pay for the services. It's still so easy to be anonymous online as long as law enforcement isn't involved.

mkdms14 · Jul 21, 2014

I find this a bit pointless I just did a quick google search a found dozen of other websites that are both hosting the patch and pre-patch versions of the rom. If SE really wanted to do something about it they should of taken action before the patch was released not afterwords. Clearly they have know about this project for a while but still chose to do nothing until now. Its there own damn fault.

Lumstar · Jul 21, 2014

mkdms14 said:
I find this a bit pointless I just did a quick google search a found dozen of other websites that are both hosting the patch and pre-patch versions of the rom. If SE really wanted to do something about it they should of taken action before the patch was released not afterwords. Clearly they have know about this project for a while but still chose to do nothing until now. Its there own damn fault.

I don't think it's due to the game itself. SaGa 2 (less so 3) were translated when DS was still somewhat viable to release them.

TheDarkSeed · Jul 21, 2014

Type-0 wasn't even on my radar. But because SquE did this, I'm gonna download the patch and enjoy the hell out of it...

mkdms14 · Jul 21, 2014

Lumstar said:
I don't think it's due to the game itself. SaGa 2 (less so 3) were translated when DS was still somewhat viable to release them.

But that game never received the same public attention that type-0 received. I didn't even know there was a fan translation for Saga.

Kioku · Jul 21, 2014

That's a great way to treat your fanbase, SE. You can sit there and cry about how they were making money off of the donations.. but they weren't required to actually use the translation (that you so lazily put off). It wasn't a purchase for the product. More-so an optional show of gratitude. They did your work for you, free of charge. Then you do this.

Zero Dozer · Jul 21, 2014

TheDarkSeed said:
Type-0 wasn't even on my radar. But because SquE did this, I'm gonna download the patch and enjoy the hell out of it...

Same here. I already have the patched ISO, I got it on day one. When I finish Tactics Ogre, FFT-0 will be my next target.

As for the bugs the patch still has, I wonder if someone on the underground can fix them, as I see that Sky and his team won't be showing up soon.

Lumstar · Jul 21, 2014

Mchief298 said:
That's a great way to treat your fanbase, SE. You can sit there and cry about how they were making money off of the donations.. but they weren't required to actually use the translation (that you so lazily put off). It wasn't a purchase for the product. More-so an optional show of gratitude. They did your work for you, free of charge. Then you do this.

Those are secondary issues in these circumstances. More important is whether the patch does in fact include significant enough copyrighted material to warrant shutting down.

mkdms14 · Jul 21, 2014

People interested in a better idea of what happen should read this article posted on Kotaku. Although there are still many unanswered questions it does shed some light on some events that lead to this legal action to happen.
http://kotaku.com/final-fantasy-fan-translation-has-become-a-fiasco-1608340061

FAST6191 · Jul 21, 2014

"People interested in a better idea of what happen should read this article posted on Kotaku."
I wonder how often that phrase has been said seriously. In this case it is probably one of the few times Kotaku does something resembling journalism.

LoyalZero1 · Jul 21, 2014

mkdms14 said:
People interested in a better idea of what happen should read this article posted on Kotaku. Although there are still many unanswered questions it does shed some light on some events that lead to this legal action to happen.
http://kotaku.com/final-fantasy-fan-translation-has-become-a-fiasco-1608340061

Aw CRAP! I knew about all of this, but it surprises the hell out of me to see it all on a gaming news site! Sky & Team, I had nothing to do with this news story! Don't point any fingers at me!

EDIT: Hmmm....

You know..... upon further thinking about it, I know exactly who provided all the inside stuff on this. And... it's ok, man. I understand why you did it. You wanted everyone to know a certain someone's not the angel they all think he is. I would've posted it if you had asked me to. But you said you didn't want to bother people with it at the time. I wonder what changed?

It's ok, man. You guys are still cool in my book.

TheLostSabre · Jul 21, 2014

Well, that shed new light to this whole situation.

kingaz · Jul 21, 2014

basf11214 said:
In the U.S., aiding and abetting a violation of someone else's copyright is itself a violation. Of course, there are things a translator can do to assert his/her rights (because people who create translations also own the copyright to the translation). For example, Skyblade could counter sue for an injunction against Square publishing the game in the United States (because it violates the translation teams' copyright).

Let's assume for that Skyblade actually had the funds to actually assert that defense in court (which is sadly what a lot of copyright law comes down to).

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A LAWYER.

I'm skeptical as to whether or not Skyblade would be eligible for copyright in the first place. Translators seem to have a clear claim to copyright, barring some agreement to transfer or forfeit those rights. However, as far as I understand the predominant copyright regimes, the holder of an intellectual property has the exclusive right to authorize derivative works of said property. Although translations are held to have enough original elements to be eligible for copyright protection, they are also most certainly a derivative work.

Can someone claim copyright protections for their work when said work infringes copyright? This is not an easy question, and certainly not settled; however, precedent is not on the side of the first infringer. As such, since Skyblade and co's translation was A) unauthorized, and B) derivative of S-E's IP, it is not eligible for copyright protection by my estimation.

If I'm wrong, please direct me to the relevant law and/or case.

Now, let's say that infringing works do merit protection for their original elements. If the rumors are true, Squenix already had a translation in the works for the PSP version (not to mention the upcoming release). Since those easily predate the existence of the fan project, the copyright over said translation(s) trumps the translation cooked up by the team. Remember, it's not which one was published or registered first (although those save you the trouble of having to establish when an unpublished thing was created), but which was created first, as copyright is an automatic thing.

tl;dr Fan translation is legally screwed on multiple counts.

Square Enix Threatens Legal Action Against Type-0 Fan Translation

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