A Swedish translator of Japanese-style manga comics has been cleared of child pornography charges in a case that has sparked debate about whether cartoon characters can be considered people.
Simon Lundstroem had appealed to the Supreme Court against his conviction for possessing 39 sexual images depicting young-looking characters drawn in manga style.
Manga is a hugely popular genre in Japan. There are magazines for children, adults and senior citizens, and titles targeted at special interest groups such as golfers, businessmen and new mothers. More.
The translation workplace 
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Andrea Alvisi 
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اليابان
Local time: 18:29
ياباني إلى أنجليزي
There's a bit of advice hidden in this article for Japanese translators: probably best to be careful when translating Japanese manga or anime while living outside of Japan. Even if a job seems innocent enough, scenes that might be considered child pornography in some areas of the world could still pop up in the course of the job, never mind if a long-time client suddenly puts you on the spot and asks you to translate something explicitly adult-oriented. I imagine similar advice could go for translators of many languages working in a country other than the source language. Possibly even if you were working in the country of the source language if the text is considered politically or religiously outrageous, etc.
To what extent are translators responsible for the content they translate?
Edited for clarity.
[Edited at 2012-06-19 09:10 GMT]
الصين
Local time: 17:29
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In another thread, several colleagues said that translators definitely own the copyright for their own translations. I can't see how we can believe that, but at the same time argue that we're not responsible for content.
As I recall, back in the day of film cameras, the law said that if Boots saw criminal activity on a film, they were obliged to report it.
More generally, we should be responsible. More people taking responsibility is a good thing.
Local time: 11:29
ألماني إلى أنجليزي
In the United States, for instance, translations are generally considered work for hire with the author of the original work holding the copyright. But please google this issue - since this is just the statement of some random person on the Internet - and don't just accept other random people claiming that translators hold the copyright (everywhere in the world).
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