Copyright and -P's

[Zelfie Windwalker]

With the Save Miku campaign, it's come to light that many producers' copyrights seem to be ignored. Take SCL project's terms of use:

Any usage of SCL Project's work is extremely prohibited. Anyone can use works related to SCL Project from NND, such as \"Utattemita\", \"Ensoushitemita\", as long as it is used as Background Music.

It's alright with us if works like these will be used within NND, no need for permission for using it. However, compiling it into a form of compressed media, such as CDs and selling it without permission or compensation is strictly prohibited. This also applies uploading songs in other video sharing sites without permission.

This means any SCL project songs, such as Imitation Black, cannot have covers posted to YouTube or other sites (but there are covers on YouTube as of right now). It's apparently ok for NND.

Monica:factory/10日P (Google Translated):

You want to use in such production \"BGM\" working \"tried to play\", \"singing saw\" a song Q..

Fine A.. As long as the songs that are up to the smiling video (including mix-platinum-shinin 'future), up to the site to post creative work, such as Nico Nico secondary that is OK, etc. is also unnecessary usage reports. (As long as the non-commercial purposes.)

Again, only NND is okay.

Also, many -P's are really unhappy with the whole Save Miku campaign because their terms of use have been violated, and they feel that Media Interactive Inc. is an unintentional good guy for getting rid of the violators.

My question is, where does this place UTAU covers? Should we all move to NND to avoid violating copyrights?
I really am confused on what to do :/

On a lighter note, White Flame/Kurosa-P is okay with reuploads and covers on other sites.
Electrocutica also allows covers and reuploads, but with specific restrictions and requirements.

 

[smeen]

We should ask the -P's about UTAU covers. Just post a notice somewhere on the Japanese UTAU community (I bet there is one.) We could ask someone to help us compose it in Japanese. I think it would be a good idea to show our interest.

 

[Zelfie Windwalker]

Seems like a sound idea...
Do we actually know of any Japanese Utau forums besides UTAU-days, though?
Unless that is the main Utau community over there.

 

[MystSaphyr]

I'll bring the issue up with damesukekun. He's basically the Japanese liaison for the overseas UTAU wiki/community, so he could probably explain these terms better.

Another person to ask would be Kuro (オーバーボディ on Pixiv) to see if he could help. He helps Aki with checking her lyrics, and he seems really nice and in-tune with the English speaking fandom.

It's strange, since most of the P's that I've encountered on Twitter or through Piapro are perfectly fine with covers. I've seen only a very limited group who don't like their work on Youtube. So while it's safe to check on an individual basis, I doubt this is the "norm" among the majority of producers.

 

[Zelfie Windwalker]

It's strange, since most of the P's that I've encountered on Twitter or through Piapro are perfectly fine with covers. I've seen only a very limited group who don't like their work on Youtube. So while it's safe to check on an individual basis, I doubt this is the \"norm\" among the majority of producers.

Good to hear. At the time I posted this topic damesukekun had been posting all of the Twitter posts of -P's against the Save Miku campaign, and there was the whole Daifuku-P issue. From the way he said it, I thought it may have been a silent majority of disapproval ^^;;

Since then, yama's been nice enough to translate some more Terms of Use, and it seems that the more popular -P's (Hachi, Onyx-P, Mothy, Owata-P) are ok with secondary/derivative use as long as they are credited and music published on CD's such as Exit-tunes is not used (They haven't said anything about the YouTube issue that I know of). The only exceptions are Ryo, whose Terms of Use haven't been found, and Deco*27, who hasn't posted Terms of Use but stated on his Twitter at one point that covers of his songs such as Utattemita make him sad.

As for contacting Damesukekun, that'd be awesome if you could do that.

 

[LightBadger]

From what I hear, NND has an English sight now so if we DO end up having migrate to NND, it shouldn't be all that hard. The only thing that'd be foreign is adjusting to the feel of the sight.

 

[LupinAKAFlashTH]

@ LightBadger

The English Nico Nico Douga site is actually a video sharing site.  You can copy paste any Nico Nico Douga link or Youtube link and you will be able to share it with anyone you like, even with those without accounts.

Therefore, technically migrating to english Nico Nico Douga would still require posting the covers to YouTube or non-english Nico Nico Douga first in the first place.... so that is still iffy.

As for DECO*27, the worst reaction to a cover of his work is actually anything related to audacity-vocal removed karaokes (particularly the infamous Aimai Elegy incident), so any off-vocals that are provided by nico-kara or by his label (UMAA) on his albums/EPs should be okay for covering as far as I'm concerned.  Aimai Elegy however requires permission to cover in any form, so be careful about that particular song.

If anyone wants to correct me on the DECO*27 matter, feel free, as I'm not sure if all of my information is correct. XD;

 

[IrisFlower]

You can upload to English Niconico too because I uploaded my Hurting For a Very Hurtful Pain cover to it.  You don't have to upload to youtube or NND first and just use the share option. You can but you don't have to. If you do then that's fine but from what I've seen you don't need them. When you upload to NND you have the option to share the video on the English site as well. It even gives you the option to translate everything(title and description) yourself versus a machine translation. I did this with my Cyber Thunder Cider cover. Still, that doesn't mean you absolutely have to post to NND first. You can upload to Niconico.com if you so choose.

On another note when uploading to Niconico.com the video shows up on your NND as well. This is from the perspective of someone who had an NND account before I even knew there was an English one though. So I don't know if you automatically get an NND account if you sign up for Niconico or not. If you already have an NND you can use that on the English site and the accounts are super connected as far as videos, my lists, and even your avatar goes. So moving to Niconico.com isn't that terrible.

 

[LightBadger]

Plus there are quite a few tutorials out there on how to sign up and upload to Japanese nico nico. I've uploaded a couple videos myself there. It may not be as easy to upload to as youtube, but there are quite a few sites like that. For example: I prefer to use the art site FurAffinity because its easier and quicker to upload to, while deviantart is a little more tedious.

 

[LupinAKAFlashTH]

Iris you have just taught me things
thank you very much

 

[Rokurin]

Any usage of SCL Project's work is extremely prohibited. Anyone can use works related to SCL Project from NND, such as \"Utattemita\", \"Ensoushitemita\", as long as it is used as Background Music.

It's alright with us if works like these will be used within NND, no need for permission for using it. However, compiling it into a form of compressed media, such as CDs and selling it without permission or compensation is strictly prohibited. This also applies uploading songs in other video sharing sites without permission.

You want to use in such production \"BGM\" working \"tried to play\", \"singing saw\" a song Q..

Fine A.. As long as the songs that are up to the smiling video (including mix-platinum-shinin 'future), up to the site to post creative work, such as Nico Nico secondary that is OK, etc. is also unnecessary usage reports. (As long as the non-commercial purposes.)

They're only referring to the  JP part of the utamitta fandom, since the English one isn't very known among Vocaloid P's. They aren't saying "you can only upload to NND", they are /only/ talking about NND since it's the only thing they know, therefore one could extend those rules to Youtube and other video and audio sharing sites as well (like Soundcloud).  The only thing they are prohibiting is commercial usage and selling their works, taking credit for the song etc. So there's no need to ask for permission to cover their songs if they have released an offvocal EVE+