Editing Scanlation (section)

==Legal action==

Scanlations are often viewed by fans as the only way to read comics that have not been licensed for release in their area.<ref name=Hollingworth /> However, according to international copyright law, such as the [[Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works|Berne Convention]], scanlations are illegal.<ref name="Marketing the Arts">.O'Reilly, D & Kerrigan, F. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-yjGBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT221 ''Marketing the Arts: A Fresh Approach''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022626/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-yjGBQAAQBAJ&lpg=PT221&pg=PT221 |date=17 November 2015 }}. Routledge, 2010. p. 221</ref>

According to a 2009 study conducted by Lee Hye-Kyung of the [[University of London]] with Japanese [[manga]] publishers, those publishers generally stated that they considered scanlation "an overseas phenomenon", and no "coordinated action" had taken place against scanlation. Lee stated that a possible explanation for some of the lack of legal action is that scanlation groups always make sure to buy an original copy of the work and generally stop scanlating should the work become licensed.<ref name=Hollingworth>{{cite news|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090310f2.html|title='Scanlators' freely translating 'manga,' 'anime'|date=2009-03-10|work=[[The Japan Times]] Online|access-date=16 October 2010|location=LONDON (Kyodo)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222014614/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090310f2.html|archive-date=22 December 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

Historically, copyright holders have not requested scanlators to stop distribution before a work is licensed in the translated language. Thus, scanlators usually feel it is relatively 'safe' to scanlate series which have not been commercially released in their country.  Steve Kleckner, a former VP of sales for Tokyopop, stated that "Frankly, I find it kind of flattering, not threatening... To be honest, I believe that if the music industry had used downloading and file sharing properly, it would have increased their business, not eaten into it."<ref name=Interview /> However, this view is not necessarily shared among the industry, as some Japanese publishers have threatened scanlation groups with legal action. Since the 1990s, publishers have sent [[cease and desist]] letters to various scanlation groups and websites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://insidescanlation.com/backgrounds/legal.html|title=Legal Issues and C&D Letters|work=Inside Scanlation|access-date=2 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123024229/http://www.insidescanlation.com/backgrounds/legal.html|archive-date=23 January 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

Due to manga's popularity steadily increasing in the overseas market, copyright holders felt that scanlators were intruding on their sales and in 2010, a group of 36 Japanese publishers and a number of US publishers banded together to form the Manga Multi-national Anti-Piracy Coalition to "combat" illegal scanlations, especially mentioning scanlation [[Feed aggregator|aggregator]] websites. They have threatened to take legal action against at least thirty, unnamed websites.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/copyright/article/43437-japanese-u-s-manga-publishers-unite-to-fight-scanlations.html|title=Japanese, U.S. Manga Publishers Unite To Fight Scanlations|last=Reid|first=Calvin|date=8 June 2010|work=[[Publishers Weekly]]|access-date=16 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005033023/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/copyright/article/43437-japanese-u-s-manga-publishers-unite-to-fight-scanlations.html|archive-date=5 October 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Watson>{{cite web |last=Watson |first=Elizabeth |title=Whose Digital Manga is it Anyway? Publishers vs. Scanlation |publisher=Market Partners International |date=29 March 2012 |url=http://www.publishingtrends.com/2012/03/whose-digital-manga-is-it-anyway-publishers-vs-scanlation/ |access-date=2012-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403155443/http://www.publishingtrends.com/2012/03/whose-digital-manga-is-it-anyway-publishers-vs-scanlation/ |archive-date=3 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The coalition has achieved some degree of success. The scanlation aggregator site OneManga, ranked 935 in the entire internet in May 2010 according to a Google listing and top 300 in the United States,<ref name=Watson /><ref>{{cite web |last=Melrose |first=Kevin |title=One Manga among world's 1,000 most-visited websites |publisher=Comic Book Resources |date=28 May 2010 |url=http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/05/one-manga-among-worlds-1000-most-visited-websites/ |access-date=2012-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214074550/http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/05/one-manga-among-worlds-1000-most-visited-websites/ |archive-date=14 December 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> announced its closure in July 2010 due to their respect towards the displeasure expressed by the publishers, while OneManga officially shut down its online reader in August 2010.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Melrose|first1=Kevin|title=Breaking: Scanlation giant One Manga is shutting down|url=http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/07/breaking-scanlation-giant-one-manga-is-shutting-down/|website=Comic Book Resources|date=22 July 2010|access-date=21 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221125412/http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/07/breaking-scanlation-giant-one-manga-is-shutting-down/|archive-date=21 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some scanlations leak before the manga is even published in the Japanese weekly magazines.<ref>"Manga Pirated, Put Online." The Japan News Apr 20 2014. ProQuest. Web. 29 May 2015 .</ref> As of April 2014, the Japanese government was looking into amending copyright law to more effectively target translated scans.<ref>"Publishers, Govt Take on Pirated Manga Online." The Japan News Apr 21 2014. ProQuest. Web. 29 May 2015 .</ref> A 2014 estimate was that lost revenue from scanlations amounted to "560 billion yen per year in only four major cities in China".<ref>"Shot Fired Across Manga Pirates' Bow." The Japan NewsJul 31 2014. ProQuest. Web. 29 May 2015 .</ref>

In 2020, a Haesin Young, a manhwa artist, threatened legal action against a piracy website asking users to stop illegally uploading the manhwa.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BL Manhwa Artist Haesin Young Threatens Legal Action Against Manga Piracy Site Mangagogo|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2020-03-09/bl-manhwa-artist-haesin-young-threatens-legal-action-against-manga-piracy-site-mangago/.157239|access-date=2021-09-20|website=Anime News Network|language=en}}</ref> In 2021, [[Lezhin Comics|Lezhin]] said that they are working with law firms to bring legal charges against manga piracy sites, after accusations from several manhwa authors, including manhwa artist YD, that scanlation causes authors to lose money and motivation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How Does Piracy Affect Korean Webtoon Artists?|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2021-08-22/how-does-piracy-affect-korean-webtoon-artists/.176285|access-date=2021-09-20|website=Anime News Network|language=en}}</ref> Moreover, the Korean government and [[Interpol]] initiated a three-year-long cooperative investigation in April, aiming to arrest individuals engaging in illegal distribution of pirated and illegally translated comics, cartoons and novels.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-26 |title=Illegal 'scanlation' of web comics overseas frustrates Korean creators |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2022/03/199_314538.html |access-date=2022-03-02 |website=koreatimes |language=en}}</ref>