charge for making patches?

[jenyjj]

Hello, I am a manga translator and I love Otome games but as few know, those are in the native language (in my case Spanish)
the vast majority are in Japanese and English and although there are several tools to translate them such as textractor, etc. one always looks for convenience
Since I am a translator, I have taken on the task of learning some programming to be able to translate some games and it is not easy at all. I already have several projects in my sights but they require time and effort. If I did, what would be my motivation? Would it be okay to charge for doing the patch?
It's something I've been debating
Obviously the game does not belong to me, what I would charge is for the patch file, which I dedicated time and knowledge to.
On the other hand, the vast majority of patches that we find on the web are made by fans for fans for free, which makes me doubt if it would be good or not.
I read your comments and suggestions respectfully!

 

[Checkmate]

Your passion for translating manga and Otome games is admirable, and your willingness to learn programming to create translation patches shows dedication. However, before deciding to charge for your translation patches, there are some important considerations:

1. Intellectual Property Rights: Fan translations fall into a gray area of copyright law. They are usually done without the explicit permission of the copyright holders. If you decide to charge for your patches, you may attract unwanted legal attention from the original creators or publishers. This could lead to cease-and-desist orders or other legal actions against you.
   
   
2. Community Reception: In the fan translation community, there is a strong tradition of providing patches for free as a labor of love. Charging for patches might not be well-received by the community, and there's a risk that your paid patch would be distributed for free by others, undermining your efforts to monetize it.
   
   
3. Monetization Challenges: Accepting payments for fan-made content can be tricky, both in terms of payment acceptance and in finding willing customers. The internet makes it easy for content to be shared, and once your patch is out there, controlling its distribution becomes nearly impossible.
   
   
4. Donations: While fan translators often undertake their work as a hobby rather than a source of income, some do accept donations to help cover costs. This can be a way to receive some financial support without selling the patch directly. However, it's rare for such contributions to cover all the costs incurred.

Ultimately, the decision to charge for your patches is yours to make, but do so with consideration of the potential legal, ethical, and community implications.

 

[jenyjj]

Your passion for translating manga and Otome games is admirable, and your willingness to learn programming to create translation patches shows dedication. However, before deciding to charge for your translation patches, there are some important considerations:

1. Intellectual Property Rights: Fan translations fall into a gray area of copyright law. They are usually done without the explicit permission of the copyright holders. If you decide to charge for your patches, you may attract unwanted legal attention from the original creators or publishers. This could lead to cease-and-desist orders or other legal actions against you.
   
   
2. Community Reception: In the fan translation community, there is a strong tradition of providing patches for free as a labor of love. Charging for patches might not be well-received by the community, and there's a risk that your paid patch would be distributed for free by others, undermining your efforts to monetize it.
   
   
3. Monetization Challenges: Accepting payments for fan-made content can be tricky, both in terms of payment acceptance and in finding willing customers. The internet makes it easy for content to be shared, and once your patch is out there, controlling its distribution becomes nearly impossible.
   
   
4. Donations: While fan translators often undertake their work as a hobby rather than a source of income, some do accept donations to help cover costs. This can be a way to receive some financial support without selling the patch directly. However, it's rare for such contributions to cover all the costs incurred.

Ultimately, the decision to charge for your patches is yours to make, but do so with consideration of the potential legal, ethical, and community implications.

thank you very much for your valuable input, it has enlightened me

 

[Entai2965]

DLSite has a Translator's Unite program you might be interested in:

https://translatorsunite.net/

They do Otome TLs as well.

 

[jenyjj]

DLSite tiene un programa Translator's Unite que podría interesarle:

https://translatorsunite.net/

También hacen Otome TL.

wow, I love it
Arigato