Taiwan (Merch)

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Alert Buyer Beware Alert
The following content contains information about unlicensed, aka "bootleg" merchandise.

The production, distribution, trade, importation, purchase, or sale of these items may be illegal.
Please refer to your local and regional laws for further information.

The .hack//INFO Wiki does not condone or support bootleg merchandise.
It is our belief that a well-informed public is best able to protect themselves
from scams and low quality knockoffs. We hope that providing this information
will help protect fans of the .hack series.

Regarding Legality

Due to copyright laws established in 1992, Taiwan had a relaxed approach to enforcement. During this era, these CDs fell into a legal grey area; they were legal in Taiwan but could be illegal in other areas. In 2002, Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). After this point people and companies in Taiwan were expected to follow the regulations specified in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).[1]

For CDs, just look at the spine of your CD's jewel case for the manufacturer part number. Authentic Japanese Imports all have a four letter company name, followed by a dash, and then a four or five digit number.
Some examples of the major legitimate Japanese companies that produce Anime and J-Pop CD's are:

  • VICL = Victor Entertainment


For Taiwanese companies, the company name consists of only two or three-letter words which are usually followed by a three digit number. The majority of the time, the first release is marked with 001 in a similar fashion as the Japanese imports to make them look more authentic.

SonMay Records LTD, Ever Anime, Alion, Archer Records, and Golden Diamond Music, Smile Face, Miya Records, & KO Records (to name a few) have been dealing in music CD's for several years, producing copies of Japanese CD's - copies that are legal to sell only in Taiwan. Why is this? Taiwan is not a signature member of the International Copyright Agreement (the Berne Convention, something you've probably never heard of), which requires each signing country to abide by worldwide copyright laws. Because if this they can freely produce copies of licensed CD's from other countries without regard to royalties, licensing agreements, or copyright laws.

In recent years, large quantities of these CDs have been poured into foreign countries (mostly through gray market distributors) with expanding Anime markets, especially the United States. These CDs are, in many cases, being sold as originals at many pop-culture retailers, comic dealers, and especially online stores. It's not uncommon for the distribution companies to pretend they don't know where their products are going since they don't personally sell them overseas, and for the local and online stores to deny any knowledge of the origins of these CD's. The reality is that they become illegal bootlegs the minute they leave the shores of Taiwan.

–Robert's Anime Corner Store FAQ (circa 2004)[2]


CDs

Alion International Records Co. Ltd.

AKA Alion, Alion International Records

All of Alion's releases are bootlegs, and no rights to publish or distribute these albums were obtained. While the music and materials may be a close reproduction, the original copyright logos are typically removed. Please support the original artists by not purchasing bootleg albums. –VGMdb


All of Alion's releases are bootlegs, and no rights to publish or distribute these albums were obtained. While the music and materials may be a close reproduction, the original copyright logos are typically removed.

Discogs

Title Release Date Manufacturer Catalog # Barcode
.hack//SIGN ORIGINAL SOUND & SONG TRACK 1 2002 Alion International Records Co. Ltd. ALCA-8046[3] 4719433000469[4]
.hack//SIGN ORIGINAL SOUND & SONG TRACK 2 2002 Alion International Records Co. Ltd. ALCA-8077[5] 4719433000773[6]
.hack//Liminality Original Soundtrack 2003 Alion International Records Co. Ltd. ALCA-8078[7] 4719433000780[8]
.hack//EXTRA SOUNDTRACKS 2003 Alion International Records Co. Ltd. ALCA-8084[9] 4719433000841[10]
.hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK 2003 Alion International Records Co. Ltd. ALCA-8143 4719433001435[11]
.hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet Character Song & Story 2003 Alion International Records Co. Ltd. ALCA-8162 4719433001626[12]
.hack//Game Music Perfect Collection 2003 Alion International Records Co. Ltd. ALCA-8192
ALCA-8193[13] 		4719433001923[14]

Smile Face International Records Co., Ltd.

All of Smile Face International Records' releases are bootlegs, and no rights to publish or distribute these albums were obtained. While the music and materials may be a close reproduction, the original copyright logos are typically removed. Please support the original artists by not purchasing bootleg albums. –VGMdb


Taiwanese counterfeiting label.

Allegedly started after 2002 as a shell of Ever Anime and Alion to evade copyright law, but were finally found and shut down.

–Discogs

Title Release Date Manufacturer Catalog # Barcode
.hack//SIGN ORIGINAL SOUND & SONG TRACK 1 2002 Smile Face International Records HO-031[15] 4713235880311[16]
.hack//SIGN ORIGINAL SOUND & SONG TRACK 2 2002 Smile Face International Records HO-053[17] 4713235880533[18]
.hack//Liminality Original Soundtrack 2003 Smile Face International Records HO-054[19] 4713235880540[20]

Power International Multimedia Inc.

Title Release Date Manufacturer Catalog # Barcode
.hack//SIGN ORIGINAL SOUND & SONG TRACK 2 Unknown Power International Multimedia Inc. RC-023 4719867007911[21]

K-O Records Ltd.

AKA K-O Trading Co., Ltd.

All of K-O Records' releases are bootlegs, and no rights to publish or distribute these albums were obtained. While the music and materials may be a close reproduction, the original copyright logos are typically removed. Please support the original artists by not purchasing bootleg albums. –VGMdb


Taiwanese label producing bootlegs of Japanese CD's (anime KO-88XXX & videogame soundtracks KO-99XXX).

Web site active from 2004 to mid 2013.

Apparently they published new cd releases until 2010. From 2011 they published blu-ray disc only.

–Discogs

Title Release Date Manufacturer Catalog # Barcode
.hack//Song of The World 2007 K-O Records KO-88176[22] 4713235221763[23]

References

  1. ↑ Taiwan Copyright FAQs
  2. ↑ Robert's Anime Corner Store FAQ via Wayback Machine. (Archived from Original 02 February 2004.)
  3. ↑ SIGN OST 1 (Alion) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  4. ↑ SIGN OST 1 (Alion) Album Entry on Discogs Database
  5. ↑ SIGN OST 2 (Alion) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  6. ↑ SIGN OST 2 (Alion) Album Entry on Discogs Database
  7. ↑ Liminality OST (Alion) Album Entry on Discogs Database
  8. ↑ Liminality OST (Alion) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  9. ↑ EXTRA OST (Alion) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  10. ↑ EXTRA OST (Alion) Album Entry on Discogs Database
  11. ↑ Legend of the Twilight Bracelet OST (Alion) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  12. ↑ Legend of the Twilight Bracelet Character Song & Story (Alion) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  13. ↑ Game Music Perfect Collection (Alion) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  14. ↑ Game Music Perfect Collection (Alion) Album Entry on Discogs Database
  15. ↑ SIGN OST 1 (Smile Face) Album Entry on Discogs Database
  16. ↑ SIGN OST 1 (Smile Face) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  17. ↑ SIGN OST 2 (Smile Face) Album Entry on Discogs Database
  18. ↑ SIGN OST 2 (Smile Face) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  19. ↑ Liminality OST (Smile Face) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  20. ↑ Liminality OST (Smile Face) Album Entry on Discogs Database
  21. ↑ SIGN OST 2 (Power International Multimedia) Album Entry on Discogs Database
  22. ↑ Song of The World (K-O Records) Album Entry on VGMdb Database
  23. ↑ Song of The World (K-O Records) Album Entry on Discogs Database
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