March 23, 2007
CPM & Libra: Case Study Difficulties of Japanese Licensing
Posted by Devin
The case of Japanese publisher Libre and Central Park Media is one of the few licensing issues that is hit among the blogsphere, and you can review the breaking coverage over at Mangacast & Mangablog.net. Licensing content, especially foreign content is never easy. Compiled with the situation that these are unique works, its foreseeable that one might end up with one or more of these situations. What makes licensing (and the Japanese flavor of licensing) so complicated?
Licensers demand time periods. When you license a work you have use of the work for X time, and you have this time to translate, re-author, and distribute the work. Sometimes in the case of a multiple-volume work, you need to release your first volume on Y date, with all volumes out by Z date. Licenses can be tied to company control. This usually implies that a change in ownership or dissolvement due the bankruptcy can temporary suspend or terminate a license. Licensers can sell contracts. A license has value and rights that is has granted the licenser in turn for monetary value. In turn, the licenser can sell those contracts to a third party if he or she wishes. Japanese companies are allowed collusion. Japanese companies are allowed collusion You’re allowed to talk to other firms and collude on price, services, and licensing agreements, to a certain point. For a long time Label Mobile, the joint venture between the five Japanese music labels, kept most smaller licensers away because on their own the costs would be so much higher, in effect locking out most would-be competitors. Collusion can only be used at a certain point, as recently the Japanese equivalent to Fair Trade Commission investigated Label Mobile for unfair business practices. I mention this because– Licensers sometimes say no thanks. Almost unheard of in the US is a licenser that says “no” or wants unreasonable distribution terms. Movies such as Battle Royale or Yaoi are controversial in regards to its content and the western marketto of making money. Japanese licensers are much more aware of cultural clashes between the two countries and will sometimes purposely table the license.
Filed To: Distribution / Over in Asia / Mobile
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