Declan Murphy wrote:

> > No it is common sense. <snip>
>
> Not for the risk averse. There is no obligation on a company, Japanese
> or otherwise, to risk losing their shareholder's money by prematurely
> launching a product.

If other companies were as pessimistic as you, it is surprising a release is made in the
domestic market at all, considering the questionable appeal of many products successful or
not. Have you seen "The wacky world of Japanese ice cream"?

http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/photospecials/index.html

Management at those companies are not as risk averse as you seem to be, otherwise they
wouldn't come out with "raw horseflesh" ice cream.

> The copyright exists, there is plenty of time, the
> "fans" should either learn to read Japanese and buy from authorized
> outlets, or wait.

How fortunate that that foreign companies are not as risk averse when bringing products to
Japan, otherwise I'd never enjoy a piece of home, and Japanese wouldn't get them either.

> There is no justification for stealing. I'm wondering
> why a presumably reformed shoplifter like yourself can't understand what
> is at the end of the day the most basic aspect of this issue?

Which is what?

And I'm wondering why a business authority like yourself, some other respondents, and
Japanese companies that refuse to put something out for a definite foreign market don't
seem to understand capitalism. If they do not release some popular anime, at a price the
market is willing to pay, someone else will, perhaps despite breaking laws. That is not a
justification of stealing, it is simply a fact.

> > A 30 year "timelag"? The Japanese entertainment giant Toei can't adapt or sell its
> > own damned products to the world's largest market in the most common international
> > language in less than 30 years?
>
> It doesn't matter. They own the content. It is their asset, they paid
> for it, rewarding the original creator in the process, and they
> shouldn't be held to ransom by pirates - whether said pirates be deluded
> nerds, idiots or otherwise. The copyright lasts in many cases up to 70
> years. So live with it. Without copyright and copyright law, there would
> be less crap for you to read or watch. It all comes out in the wash.
> You're the "published writer" - learn the rules.

It is not about being held to ransom by pirates, it is about not making MORE money for
THEMSELVES by releasing their product which people want.

> > And if the Japanese don't make their move to overcome that learning curve (near two
> > decades in the case of manga in the US, and it's finally got to the stage that
> > American readers accept reading right to left and having Japanese sound effects in
> > English in an all black and white comic), then they won't accomplish much despite
> > having considerably more resources than JN Productions, NGN TV, or some fan with a
> > little Japanese skill and a computer or copy machine.
>
> Does the failure in the market place of "the Japanese" (you racist
> bastard)

This is not about race, this is about "scanlation" of Japanese publications. If I knew the
fans, pirates and market to be American citizens, I'd be talking about "Americans" instead
of merely "in the US".

> to succeed in marketing their products justify or legitimize
> theft of intellectual property? I think not.

I am not justifying or legitimizing theft. I am simply recognizing it exists. Do you claim
it does not? I am for the Japanese company making MORE money, and MORE fans getting what
they want, presumably better quality and content than what a fansub or pirate can ever
provide.

> I think the main difference here Eric, is that unlike you I don't have
> an emotional investment in this issue.

What emotional investment have I, and you do not? It is you with the three jobs and two
companies and any other people or factors involved, to protect, when talking about
intellectual property. I am mainly a consumer.

> Not for the first time, your inability to think or act in a manner even vaguely rational
> affects your views. In my case I'm not a manga fan

What relevance is the fact I like manga? My thoughts on intellectual property rights in
general are the same.

> (I've never read one, and only
> seen one - that "Le voyage de Chihiro" thingee one of my ex-gfs dragged
> me along to - & during which I fell asleep) and make no differentiation
> between the patents for say machine tools or pharmaceuticals, and err,
> comics.

Me neither.

> But there is no reason why the creator of software for some
> anime thingee (a consumer product), should be shafted by piracy, while
> the creator of software for an industrial robot (an industrial product
> used for creating consumer products) reaps their just reward.

I did not say there was a reason either. But piracy of manga and video exists, as surely
as other violations of intellectual property exist. If you would like to talk about
unauthorized copies of Toyota cars made in China, or unauthorized copies of French
accessories made in Korea, you'll get the same response as for manga or videos.

> > Perhaps a business authority like yourself with three jobs and two companies can tell
>
> 4 jobs and 3 companies now (for tax purposes I incorporated a sole
> trader op). Do try to keep up. In fact over the last 6 months my net
> wealth has increased by what is by recent standards a healthy 647 yen.
> If I could afford to visit my wine cellar, I'd crack open a nice Chablis.

I hope that you, like a 31 year old female cardiologist I know who drives a purple Porsche
and works one day a week in Tokyo who repeatedly claims to people who will listen that
doctors are not wealthy, are merely joking when making such self deprecating comments
about your success.

> > me why authorized foreign video releases can sell for much less than in Japan (if
> > available in Japan at all), despite the costs of having them remastered if needed,
> > adapted (subtitled, dubbed, or having additional language tracks added, and
> > objectionable scenes edited) and marketed.
>
> Because local demand determines local price.

And what of profits which you think in your last post to be the first to consider? If Toei
can make a reasonable profit selling its US adapted and upgraded version of "Kikaida" in
Hawaii for $20 per volume (even $11.92 online), it begs the question why they tried (and
in the end failed) to sell in the home market for more than $40 at current rates (more
like $60 back then) and why they did not learn a lesson. Same goes for any other movie
company.

If you were charging Japanese three or four times what you were charging in Australia for
a similar product or service and your companies were doing even more poorly than you
suggest they are doing now, what would you consider to remedy the situation? Would you not
consider lowering your price in Japan?

> Any 18 year old
> undergraduate student would encounter these concepts in the first 8
> weeks of any microeconomics course. Similarly anyone with an inquiring
> mind who read a little more widely than manga would soon encounter the
> theory of marginal returns.

Which is why I ask about Japanese pricing. Toei didn't have enough success with their $400
editions of Kikaida to even keep it in production in VHS and LD, and don't bother putting
it on DVD (a single volume of "Inazuman" goes for 14,480 yen) because they think it will
not be profitable, while in the US a set of eight DVDs (lacking the ninth and last volume)
of authorized videos may sell for about $100 at discount, and Japanese publishers and
booksellers sit on stocks of unsold comics and books because they and stores refuse to
discount, despite subsequent versions such as softcover and pocketbook coming out at even
lower prices.

Is your justification as simple as, they can do what they want with their company and
product if they are not willing to take the risk? You do not try to claim their approach
actually makes good sense or actually makes them the most profit?