Subtitle legality

[muno]

I'm curious about this issue.
There are subtitles available for most movies around. Usually the english ones are ripped from the dvd.

However, finnish subtitles are nearly without an exception translations from the english ones.

How can that be illegal? A while back a subtitle site was cancelled because the 'finnish translators association' (or whatever it is) threatened to sue the site owners.

I don't understand how can that be? It's not like they're sharing something the FTA has translated and used, it's their own work.
-M

Reproducing copyrighted material?
I don't know that one is a stretch...

[muno]

No they're not reproducing anything.

It's like if I took a snow white cassette, listened to it, and translated everything said there to finnish.
How can that be illegal.
-M

[OuTpaTienT]

Well, what if you took Hillary Clinton's new book and read it then translated it to Finnish? Would that be legal?

[muno]

That sounds like a good analogy.

Would it?
-M

[OuTpaTienT]

No it wouldn't. At least I'm pretty darn sure it wouldn't be legal (I'm not a lawyer). When you consider that most best selling books are eventually translated into hundreds of languages and sold throughout the world, then it only makes sense that the creator of the material retains his copyright and thus control over the material no matter what language it's expressed in. And no matter what the material is, books, movies, drawings, etc.

I'm pretty sure that translators who legally translate material have to get copyright permission, which means paying fees to the copyright holders. I know this holds true for music and printed works, so I'm sure it would hold true for films.

So, the possible reason for getting such a site shut down, was they were illegally providing subtitles, for which the said Association members had to pay fees for.

Would annoy me if I was in such an Association, I'm sure.

Cheers
Mick

[muno]

Thanks to all for clearing that out
-M