Question Rules on Translating LN

What are the rules for translating a LN, things similar to copyright or creator's rights?

 

Contact the author of the work you want to translate if you want to make sure.
Otherwise, check if it's already licensed in the language you want to translate it into if it isn't, it should be okay.
Fan translation is in a gray zone anyway.

 

Thanks

 

For now,for amateur TL,there is no set rules.You can even MTL. It is about whether readers will like it or not. The project you wanna pick up should generally be not translated by someone else from at least 2 months back.As far as copyrights go...they just strike at you!! And unless your site gets really popular,you may not get to even negotiate. Or,you can directly approach before starting.
EDIT: Yeha,asking for permission of author is recommended.

 

Thanks

 

Even if it's recommended to contact the author, most of translators didn't contacted them.

 

It could take some time, and there is language difficultiest to face

 

Well, most of them are probably too lazy, or because some authors can't be reached and also because some authors are against the donation thing for fan translations. I heard that an translator got criticized by an author because of it.

 

Some good points have been made. Though I can't apply them though because I'm not TL-ing.

 

The only rule you have to adhere to is to be good. Don't translate if your english is crappy (for god's sake, so many fan based translations are horrible), but it should be fine for you

 

Thanks, but it's a member of the team that TLing, not me, though I'm a PR.

 

You don't have to contact the Author, but if they contact you, it's suggested you should follow their wishes,
don't steal other people's projects or else you will feel the wrath of everyone in the novel community, and never change or add to the authors work even if it goes against your views or if it seems like a questionable material, you still have to respect the Authors work in any shape or form.

Also a very helpful tip, Once you translate a story, communicate with the readers and enjoy the moment because this story will be a journey filled with adventure and hardship you will go through together.

 

Thanks

 

@Parth37955
Could you please close this? I'm sorry to bother for such a thing, especially if I can close this myself but don't know how to.

 

Thank you for those that have helped me with the advice.

 

Fan translation is not a grey area when it comes to the law, the laws are very clear for almost every country in the world. Unless it's a very old work (the author has been dead for at least 50-70 years, typically, or if the author isn't known then at least 50 years after publication) so the copyright has expired, then translating a novel without the author's permission (or whoever holds the rights, which is often the publisher rather than the author) is 100% illegal. It doesn't matter if it's a web novel that's available for free online, it doesn't matter if the novel is licensed for translation or not, it doesn't matter if you're translating for free as a hobby or if you're doing it for profit, it's all explicitly illegal unless you have permission.

But being illegal doesn't mean you can't do it. 99% of the translations on NU are illegal, 99% of manga and anime translations are illegal, so it's extremely common and the consequences are minimal. Authors for the most part don't care (or know) about fan translations and a lot are in favour of them, and for publishing companies it takes a lot of work and money to go after fan translators and there's very little to gain from it, it's really only the professional translation companies that are going to push the issue for the works they've licensed. And even then, for most people the worst-case scenario is a DMCA notice, possibly escalating to a complaint to your webhost or ISP, there's very little chance of ever actually going to court over it and being fined. The only time it's likely to be a serious issue is if you're in a career where the illegal translations can hurt your professional reputation (such as a career that involves professional translation or copyright law).

So if you don't have permission to translate, be aware that you're very clearly and unambiguously breaking the law, but it's not likely to be a big problem.

 

Thank you!