Ok, I have decided to write a bit about the distribution of the almost finished
Tatsuya Souma's KNT manga translation. I don't have a degree in rights, but my father works for a copyright organization, my brother studies the financial law so I do know a few things about this. The goal is not to scare you from it, but just to make you aware of what the laws are. It might be different for you, but keep this article in mind.
Since I hope that people will distribute this and spread the love we all have for KNT I do want to tell you a few things.
1. Scanlation (translating a manga) without approval of the copyright holder is illegal. Yes, the scanlation is in fact not legal. A lot of people don't know this, but now you know.
2. Distributing copyrighted material is only allowed with the explicit consent of the copyright holder. We don't have it and if we do we can not extend it to you.
3. Download copyright material is in most countries (unlike point 2) illegal. Some countries allow it. Keep in mind that distrubuting someone else copyright material is always illegal.
4. Even if you have the untranslated version legal, it does not excuse you for the illegal version (aka the scanlation).
5. Most laws have a section that goes something like "Citizens have to be aware of the law". This is to prevent people from "Oh... I didn't know that!". it's your civil duty to be aware of the laws (whether you live in Japan, US, Mars, Jupiter or on ISS)
So the conclusion we can draw from the above is that we are actually doing something that is really illegal. However we also have exceptional circumstances.
1. The manga is not translated and this was the only means to make it available for those who do not understand Japanese.
2. We are fans of the serie and/or creator of the serie and this is a way to promote and/or create more fans. This is in the best interest of the serie and/or creator (more fans==more cash)
Personally I don't mind how you distribute it as long as you don't remove the original author ("Tatsuya Souma") or ask money for it. I would like to ask you not to change the content at all as those who have worked on it have done it for free and they should deserve to be recognized for it. Further any distribution is your own responsibility.
If the manga gets ever translated, your biggest exceptional circumstance will no longer apply and that would be your strongest defense.
Author
