Translation of Ito Bushu tsuba book by Markus Sesko

[Jesper]

Hi all,

I am planning to commission a private translation of the textual parts of Tanko Bushu Ito-ha by Kasahara, Arai and Akimoto (1999) and am looking for others to participate.

 

It is a A4 size Japanese language reference book on the Ito Bushu school of tsuba artists, illustrated with approx. 200 b/w photos and signatures.

 

The translation is not a violation of the authors copyright, since it is your own private translation of the text, which has to be used together with the Japanese book.

The book can be found on different dealer sites on the web.

 

Markus Sesko has agreed to translate the text.

 

The following conditions apply:

- It is a private translation agreed upon by you and Markus Sesko. Markus will send you the translation when it is finished. I am only co-ordinating the work.

- Markus will only translate the text, i.e. not publish the photos. The text supplements the Japanese language book and does NOT replace it.

- Each translation will bear the name of the participating party.

- It’s for your private use only. Not for commercial use.

- Payment, see below, in advance is to be made to Markus. He will send instructions for payment.

 

Price:

The price depend on the number of participants. If we for example are 10 people commissioning the translation the price will be 75 Euro (+shipping) per person. If we are more the price will be less, e.g. 38 euro per person (+shipping) if we are 20 people.

 

You first have to decide when I know the total number of interested persons and can calculate a price.

 

If you are interested to participate please send me an email at: jesper.paasch “att” telia.com and I will get back to you when I know the total number of participants.

 

Thanks!

 

Jesper

[Brian]

Jesper,

Might make it easier if you were able to point people to a few copies of the Japanese book for sale. I am sure guys will take the translation if they can source the book.

 

Brian

[pcfarrar]

Is the book still in print in Japan? If its reasonably priced I'm in.

[Jesper]

Thanks Brian. Good idea!

 

I have found these copies:

USA:

http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b107-tsuba-ko-bushu-ito-ha-akimoto

 

http://www.shibuiswords.com/bushuitoha.htm

 

Japan:

http://www.koshoyama.com/token.htm Book no.24367.

 

 

 

Jesper

[Gabriel L]

I am not a lawyer, but I found the idea that there would be no copyright infringement an interesting one. I don't want to distract too much from the main topic, but perhaps anyone familiar with copyright law may want to review the hidden section below and comment? Presumably however Markus, as the responsible party, has already examined this issue carefully himself; so this all may be pointless musing.

 

 

Normally, a translation is a derivative work and the original author maintains copyright. The fact that the photos are missing is somewhat immaterial, the text translation still represents a major portion of the original work (more than enough for copyright to hold). Therefore if the translation was going to be distributed, Markus would have to secure authorization from the copyright holder. Indeed, certain translators have gotten into trouble over this specific issue before.

 

Now, the key word there is "distributed." What constitutes distribution is a little tricky. For example, if a researcher commissions a private translation of a book, or a translator prepares an adapted document for the internal use of a company, neither is a public release of the translation and it shouldn't infringe on copyright. That is especially true if the translator only produces one "report" with the understanding that the recipient will not distribute the work.

 

What we have here seems like a sort of edge case — a public group of participants funding a one-time, per-participant translation of a work, which will subsequently not be shareable (by agreement, semi-enforced by listing the participant in the work). Is that a "private" translation? Is it being distributed, given that any number of participants may sign on? Markus will not receive ongoing profit from the work as it is a single-time fee… how much does that influence the interpretation of what is happening here?

 

Anyway I don't want to discourage the project and I doubt that it would actually matter in this case… this is a small niche field. On the other hand, as I have said people have previously run into this problem even in this small field. Mostly I am just curious to see if anyone can confirm that this project is legally defensible; I wouldn't want Markus to get in hot water, for instance.

 

[Markus]

Thanks Gabriel for the input. I was asking this question a lawyer friend of mine a while ago when I was working

for the first on a translation for private use but whose costs were shared by four parties. Well, copyright law is

not her speciality (it is corporate law) but she too told me that this is an edge case where the emphasis is on

the number of participating parties. If considerably more than let´s say 15 parties are involved, we are quickly

leaving safe water as this might be interpreted as no longer for private use and something that the original author or

copyright holder should be aware of, irrespective of if it is shared or not in the end.

 

Well, she told me that privately and it was not meand as a binding legal advice. But in her opinion it should

be ok if there are no ongoing profits, no re-sales, no distribution, and if the number of participating parties is

kept clear and "manageable."

 

Open for further input though!

[Gabriel L]

Hi Markus,

 

As expected, you have done your homework on this. I'm glad to have my suspicions confirmed, i.e. that the group size / one-time fee / non-sharing aspect all make a case for this being considered a "private" translation.

 

On a more practical (less legally pedantic) level, I think the project makes perfect sense and should be acceptable. It is a common-sense arrangement. But my opinion counts for nothing when it comes to legal matters.

 

Best regards,

 

—G.

 

(P.S.—both my Iron Tsuba catalog and Encyclopedia arrived recently and they are excellent additions to anyone's library; many thanks!)

[John A Stuart]

No. You have to show damages; by this, a loss of income through sale. If it is meant as a critique or addendum to another work, it is original work. Anyway who's going to complain? John

[Brian]

Exactly. Especially since a translation without pictures encourages sales of the original book. Which author is going to moan that his work has been promoted and has experienced an increase in sales?

They should be contributing to the translation.

 

Brian

[Gabriel L]

Exactly. Especially since a translation without pictures encourages sales of the original book. Which author is going to moan that his work has been promoted and has experienced an increase in sales? They should be contributing to the translation.

That's what I would think… except history has proven that at least some owners feel quite differently.

 

In any case I wholeheartedly agree and as I said I neither wanted to distract from the main topic nor discourage the project… it was more an interesting thought experiment / desire to see that no snags occur.

 

Cheers, —G.

[k morita]

Hi,

I read this thread and got to know this book for the first time.

And I ordered this book to the secondhand bookshop. It arrived now. Good book!

 

A term called "Ito-sukashi"(糸透し) appears in this page.

[Jesper]

Hi all,

We are at the moment 11 possible participants for commissioning the translation, resulting in a preliminary price of 69 Euro per person (+shipping), if everyone accept. I will close this call after Wednesday, October 29th and discuss details per mail with those who have announced their interest.

 

There is still room for more people, if you are interested (i.e. resulting in a lower price per participant, since we share the costs). If you want to participate please send me an email at: jesper.paasch "att" telia.com not later than next Wednesday.

 

Thanks

 

Jesper

[Jesper]

I wrote November 29th in my last message. It´s October 29th, i.e. Wednesday next week.

Thank you Andrey for letting me know.

 

Jesper