Toshiba has apparently found time not only to build consumer electronics and computers, but also to support a bizarre pet project: a Web site that aims to spread Japanese comic books worldwide through translation. Manganovel.com will allow multilingual comic book readers to share their own translations of Japanese graphic novels, in return for a slice of the revenue from its sales.
Members can buy the original comics for $4 to $5, then translate them to other languages. When they e-mail their translations to Managanovel, they have the option of freely distributing them, or charging 2 percent of the original comic price. When other members buy the translation and original comic together, translating members get 50 percent of the sale price as a royalty.
Toshiba’s contribution would be the digital rights management for the project. The company’s proprietary MQbic encryption allows “content keys” to limit access to copyrighted material.
The site began beta testing in June and is now open for public access.
