Dialogue in AMVs - appropriate or no?

DriftRoots · Post by **DriftRoots** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 12:45 pm

Whoa whoa whoa, everybody hold on a second, let me get this straight:

I could use dialogue in anAMV as long as it's from the original soundtrack/audiotrack, but, because MOST anime in English has been dubbed, the English dialogue cannot be used, since it's separate and stretches the boundaries of what's legal (copywrite-wise).

In other words, I could make an AMV with the original Japanese dialogue and it would be acceptable to everybody.

My point is that the AMV I'm making was originally DONE IN ENGLISH so it's not a dub, therefore there should be no problem with using this original dialogue?? In this case, the JAPANESE dub would be the no-no!

I hope there's not a double-standard going on here... Japanese dialogue is ok, but English is not?

Kai Stromler · Post by **Kai Stromler** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 12:58 pm

The problem here is using something that belongs to a US copyright-holder who may or may not be in attendance. If the original language track is in English, and the producers of the anime are represented at whatever public venue this gets shown at, there may be legal problems.

Most of the time, nobody who owns any part of an AMV is in attendance. The musical artists certainly aren't, and except at trade-show class cons like AX with a heavy presence from the Japanese industry, it's unlikely that there will be anyone from the original production studio around with enough pull to do something if they feel one of their works is being 'misused'. However, working with material created in the West means that all bets are off.

Go ahead and do this video, but be very careful showing it in public, and inform any convention video staff of its content when submitting it.

--K

DriftRoots · Post by **DriftRoots** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 1:11 pm

I feel like the feds are about to descend on me at any second!! Well TOUGH FOR THEM! I'm sure AMV's have done faaaar more good for the entire anime/manga industry than bad, who wouldn't want all this free advertising to the exact audience they so desperately seek to market to? Heck, they should pay US for all our hours slaving over Premiere! Ok, mebbe not...

In any case, AMVs are already brushing the thin line between legal and illegal, whether the original owners of any part of them are in attendance should have no bearing on legal action: if they're in Kokomo and find out we're running their stuff, it's just as illegal as if they are sitting in the audience and find out. All that's different is actually being there, in which case, no AMV would ever be shown in public if there was such a risk of legal action being taken. Who's ever heard of someone being hauled off for AMVing at such a minor scale???

I would hope the authorities are more interested in cracking down on old-school-Napster-like file sharing than innocent AMV's which we've bought and paid for (decent ones, at least) and are in no way distributing for profit, credit or copywrite purposes. Where's that FBI disclaimer when I need it?!

DriftRoots · Post by **DriftRoots** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 1:19 pm

So much for not getting off topic, sorry everybody.

Back to the future: The general consensus is that using the ORIGINAL anime (audio & visual) is in no way different from using just the original visual content . . . so using dialogue from the movie itself, not from somewhere else, is ok, particularly if it is not being taken out of context or used for purposes other than what its creators intended. In my case, I'm trying to emphasize the meaning behind the dialogue as it pertains to the entire movie, so anyconcern is moot.

If someone's going to sue me, they're going to have to sue for the entire AMV, not just the half-dozen spoken lines I choose to insert, and that'll open up a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

*backs up again* So I am going to go ahead with my dialogue-thingy and see what happens. Thanks all!