I am a translator who has been assigned the task of making the official subtitles of a movie. I have seen that the film has numerous fan-created subtitles uploaded to the Internet. I would like to know if it is legal to take these sources as a reference for an official translation and to know where the limit is if it were the case that I make a copy & paste of a specific phrase.
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If you are hired (by the publisher) to make an official translation of the subtitles, why do you have to rely on fan-made subtitles in order to do that? Depending on their source, most likely the fan-made subtitles are already infringing, but if you are authorized to use the official movie and subtitles already, then whether there is any infringement in you using the unofficial versions (which are probably already infringing) is an interesting question. – Brandin Oct 29 '19 at 15:44
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See also When is making a subtitle file for a commercial movie legal? – Brandin Oct 29 '19 at 15:45
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I would offer a slightly different version of @Brandin's comment: wouldn't the publisher have a lawyer who could answer this question? Of course making copies is never infringing if you have permission. Can you identify the authors to ask for permission? One thing to consider would be to make your translation first and then correct it by referring to the others. This would reduce the chance of identical matches, but it would not eliminate them. There are only so many ways to translate, for example, "I'll be back" into any given language. – phoog Oct 29 '19 at 16:20