Reading this as an outsider (or like casual reader; it's not a big deal to me), I have to say I feel like I've seen these circles before 😅.
Copyright is such a mess around the world. Like a god awful mess. I saw talk of the US copyright laws and that's such a great example. The laws regarding copyright in the US are as terrible as they are because of lobbying by corporations. The existing reality doesn't benefit art, artists, or consumers. It solely benefits corporations who want to endlessly milk properties and really hoard power. There's been a massive oversight in terms of just how important intellectual property has become to out economy. Frankly it's becoming dangerous in regards to economic health. A lot of corporations are playing out a different game of monopoly using IP. And we all suffer as a result. It's becoming increasingly dangerous in our digital world. With how licensing works, the internet and digital technology (once promised to expand human knowledge) allows companies to just banish whatever into the shadow realm. Then we're not even allowed to put in the work to bring it back. Man I think of stuff like the games Nintendo next brought to the west and then hardworking communities painstakingly do so themselves only to face legal action over decades old games not available for purchase otherwise. Things have only been escalating with game development itself being limited due to ridiculous patents.
That's not entirely on topic, but just a reminder that all of this is terrible on virtually every level. Even on the artistic level. Copyright was originally intended to encourage new art creation (like make it a viable career), not to line corporations pockets. Artists should also be allowed to work with existing art and add to the conversation. Part of this is on topic because translation is an art form in of itself and everyone benefits from multiple translations of the same work because those become a new layer onto the artwork.
It is incredibly difficult to find the proper balance when juggling our needs as people consuming art (every single piece of art is incredibly important to human civilization and yes this includes even the dumbest most uninspired manga: we are telling each other stories that shaper the grander tapestry of humanity's story) and the needs of creators trying to make a living from that art. The problem is that a third party came in and screwed it up for everyone: corporations turned this into a losing game for everyone. They fought for laws to keep them in power and mostly their pockets lined. The worst part is that mostly. Like in the case of fans translating works that are never going to be released in certain regions with support for certain languages. There's no reality where they digs deep into margins for a work. In fact, if anything it'd boost sales. The work gains an entire audience it never would have all for no cost from the creators and mass producers/distributors and actually the people translating will need to buy the work to then put the resources into making that work available to audiences that'd otherwise never interact with it. Of this new audience there's then a subset of people that'll buy the work from overseas just to support it. It's not a huge subset but it's more people that would have NEVER otherwise interacted with the work. Finacials are certainly never hurt. But what might be harmed is their power. They want to hold power over every property they own (often times it's strategic to make it easier to deal with future legal matters regarding copyright.
I've meandered a bit, but I really just want to remind everyone that we're on the same side. These laws are designed to harm everyone except the corporations. The don't benefit the work of art or the creators behind it. Honestly, it's insane how much worse these publishing and media companies have continued to treat and pay the people that enable their entire business model. I'm also saying that copyright is a an issue EVERYWHERE. Access to media content especially has become concerning in terms of our being able to access it. Unfortunately, the law is the law. There's no question there. I just also think it is worth acknowledging that the existing laws (globally, not just in the US) have clear winners and losers. Not just us as the audience but the creators themselves. We're not on equal footing and we don't live in a magical world. Things just suck and there's not a whole lot we can do about it. Save from pooling funds together to try and challenging the laws themselves in court.
You know I always think of "It's a wonderful life" the movie came out in 1946, and it bombed with critics and consumers. Then in 1974 the copyright ran out and the company behind it didn't renew it, so it entered the public domain after less than 30 years. Doing so is what Made "It's a wonderful life" become a classic. Broadcast TV didn't have to pay to air it, and the movie overtime became one of the best well known Christmas Movies. It's become a critical masterpiece. It's become a movie everyone grew up watching. And all because copyright was allowed to expire after a reasonable amount of decades. Now you couldn't imagine a similar situation.
When discussing this stuff just keep in mind the reality that we're all stuck in a losing game.