A possibly complicated copyright issue

I import a certain type of goods from overseas and sell them on a UK-based web store. These items come with instructions written only in the language of the originating country. I've just started translating these instructions into English, a slow and laborious process, with the aim of adding them as an insert in the package.

My question is, although the original instructions are obviously the property of the manufacturer, is it possible/legal for me to copyright the actual translation? My whole reason for translating the instructions is to give me an edge over competitors who are providing the goods WITHOUT translated instructions. I want to try and prevent those competitors merely photocopying those instructions and providing them to their own customers.

Many thanks in advance.

PS: I've asked the manufacturer for permission to provide the translations.

 

Whether you could copyright them would depend on what permission you were given (and to what extent) by the manufacturer. Just because you have had a translation made does not mean you can copyright it. The translations would be considered a derivative work. The right to produce derivative works lies with the original copyright holder. Just because they gave you the right to make and distribute the instructions does not mean you have the right to apply for copyright on that work. Furthermore, even if you are able to obtain the copyright for your translation it would only apply to your translation. It would not prevent somebody from having their own translation done independently (even if the end result was essentially the same).

 

Thanks for the reply, Bluegrass. It doesn't bother me if ppl choose to translate them themselves. As yet iIve seen no evidence of this, though. Probably because it would be costly to pay someone else to do it and, as I said above, it's a laborious process to do it yourself. For that reason, it's going to be very tempting for other distributors to just do a copy n paste job.

 

I can't be sure that it would be treated the same in the UK, but in the US a translation is considered a work for hire even if you weren't paid for it and they didn't actually request it. The mere act of them authorising you to create the translation makes it a work for hire. What you could do is see if they would give you written authorization to be the only person with rights to distribute that particular translation.