Re: Re: Translation copyright

Even if sufficiently creative to overcome Feist (and I agree that there are so many ways to translate that it pretty much has to), an interesting "risk" arises in the idea/expression dichotomy. My father translated a hymn once, only because he was dissatisfied with someone else's translation, and then ultimately preferred the translation of another person who, in my father's judgment, did an even better job of capturing the intent of the original. Each successive translator had available the preceding translations, and while they certainly found areas to improve with their own translations, there were just as certainly areas where the subsequent translator must have thought "Eureka! That's the best way to put it!" and exercised the subsequent translator's own judgment in determining that one particular previous translator's way of translating it was indeed the preferred way.

I suggest that subsequent translations should allow for more "copying" than might be tolerated in other derivative works. Were it otherwise, subsequent translators would not dare ever consult someone else's translation, lest opportunity to copy be shown, and the first translator could have a de facto near exclusive right to make the derivative work translation into that particular language.

John

On Sep 29, 2006, at 6:02 PM, Steven Jamar wrote:

> translations are copyrightable as derivative works. the question
> in the US is whether there is enough creativity in the translation
> to be copyrightable under the Feist standard (it actually is a bit
> more complex than this, but this will do here).
>
> Any translation involves judgment, creativity, phrasing, art, etc.,
> easily passing the Feist standard.
>
> So, while the original versions are public domain, the translations
> are not.
>
> The same is true for any translation of Aristotle's Rhetoric or the
> plays of ancient Greeks or translations of Cyrano de Bergerac.
>
> Steve
>
> On Sep 28, 2006, at 5:00 PM, Kathy Tadlock wrote:
>
>> I have a professor of Japanese who has spent her summer compiling
>> a manual of ancient Japanese stories (604 A.D.) and is including
>> an English translation of the stories. She used an existing
>> published English translation for parts of the material but some
>> is her modification of the translation. The largest selection from
>> any one source is about 9 pages.
>>
>> I'm waffling over the necessity of requesting copyright permission
>> for the use of the translations. The original stories are public
>> domain. Any thoughts or suggestions? This will be copied and sold
>> to students at the University owned bookstore.
>>
>> Kathy Tadlock
>> Support Services, Publishing Services
>> Wilson Library 564
>> Western Washington University
>> Bellingham, WA 98225-9127
>> Phone (360)650-3545
>> Fax (360)650-7436
>> kathy.tadlock[_at_]wwu.edu
>>
>
> --
>
> Prof. Steven D. Jamar vox: 202-806-8017
> Howard University School of Law fax: 202-806-8567
> 2900 Van Ness Street NW mailto:stevenjamar[_at_]gmail.com
> Washington, DC 20008 http://iipsj.com/SDJ/
>
>
> A word is dead
> When it is said,
> Some say.
> I say it just
> Begins to live
> That day.
>
> Emily Dickinson 1872
>
>
Received on Mon Oct 02 2006 - 19:00:00 GMT