Re: About a couple of licenses in Japanese
Though I have not been following this thread, let me cut in, as
Japanese is my mother's tong. The first word in the second setence
means "as an additional reqruirement" (at least in this context). I
would read the two sentences as:
The materials provided here are copyright-free. You may freely use
them for any purposes including commercial purposes. If you include
the materials in a commercial product, however, you must notify us
beforehand.
Given the first sentence, it is logical to understand that the second
sentence is just requesting notification, not obtaining permission
from the author.
Shinichi Sakata
From: "Ian Lewis" <ianmlewis@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: About a couple of licenses in Japanese
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2008 10:07:13 +0900
> 08/01/08 に Ben Finney <bignose+hates-spam@benfinney.id.au> さんは書きました:
> >
> > "Ian Lewis" <ianmlewis@gmail.com> writes:
> >
> > > 08/01/07 に Miriam Ruiz <little.miry@gmail.com> さんは書きました:
> > > > 2008/1/7, Ian Lewis <ianmlewis@gmail.com>:
> > > > > ここの素材は著作権フリーですので、商用でも何でも自由に使って頂い
> > > > > て構いません。但し、商用の素材集に入れる時は事前にご連絡下さい。
> > > >
> > > > That's quite interesting. If there's a requirement that you have to
> > > > contact the author before using it commercially I guess that would
> > > > sadly make it non-free.
> > >
> > > A literal translation would be "Since this work is copyright free I
> > > do not mind if you use it freely, commercially or non-commercially.
> > > However, If you include it in a commercial work, please contact me
> > > before hand.".
> >
> > The "please do X" in English has a different weight to the 「下さい」
> > in Japanese. The latter is used just as we would use "please", but it
> > is also very often used in *official* requests, where in English we
> > would say "do this" or "it is required that". In such usages, it's a
> > "please" of the "please step out of the car, sir" variety.
>
>
> Correct. I wouldn't take what he said as a legal document, but I would
> interpret it as a an official request that expresses intent. Like I said, I
> would basically interpret it like the creative-commons "no commercial
> distribution without permission" clause.
>
> > Interpret that however you will. It is not a legal document.
> >
> > Regardless, it's a direct expression of the copyright holder's intent
> > and wishes for the work. Understanding the legal force of that 「下さい」
> > seems critical to interpreting the freedom of the work under that
> > clause.
>
>
> Point taken. Japanese courts seem to be a bit more concerned with intent
> rather than the strength of the wording of a written agreement. If
> non-commercial use being prohibited without permission is non-free then this
> work should be interpreted as non-free.
>
> Ian
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