FAQ

COPYRIGHT

Q1: What “works” are protected by copyright?

A1: Copyright protects works that express thoughts or feelings in a creative way and fall within the scope of literature, science, art, or music.Consequently, as long as thoughts or feelings are expressed in a creative way, copyright law will protect pictures or works created by children or any other persons as well as pictures or works created by well-known artists or writers.

<Protectable>
Literature, music, Pantomimes and choreography, artistic, architectural, maps or graphics, cinematographic works, photographs, program works, derivative works, compilation works, Databases

<Non-protectable>
Laws, regulations and treaties;
Notices, instructions, and notifications issued by government or local public entities; Judgments, decisions, and orders by courts,
Translations or compilations of the aforementioned three categories prepared by government or local public entities.

Q2: Who can claim copyright?

A2: Copyright is granted right after completion of the work to an author who has created the work.

Since it is difficult to verify the author of the work, a person, whose name is represented as the author of the work, is considered to be the author unless counterevidence appears.Since a person who created the work is deemed to be its author, the author is essentially a natural person.However, a corporate body may be an author under limited conditions.

Q3: What type of rights does an author of a work have?

A3: The author has Personality Rights and Copyright as his properties.

[ Personality Rights ]
Personality rights of the author protect his benefits of personality and belong exclusively to the author.Thus, personality rights cannot be transferred even in the case of inheritance. Personality rights consist of the following three rights.

(1) Right of making the work public

The author has the rights to offer and make available to the public his work that has not yet been made public.The author also has the right to determine the time, place, or manner of making the work public.

(2) Right of determining the indication of the author's name

The author has the right to determine whether his name is indicated or not.When indicating the name, the author has the right to determine whether his true name or pseudonym should be indicated.

(3) Right of preserving the integrity

The author has the right to preserve the integrity of his work and to protect its title or contents from any distortion, mutilation or other modification against his will.

[ Copyright ]
Copyright protects the benefit of the author’s properties and may be transferred in whole or in part.Copyright comprises the following:

(1) Reproduction rights

This is the exclusive right to reproduce his work in tangible form by means of printing, taking pictures, copying, recording sounds or images of the work.

(2) Performance rights

This is the exclusive right to perform his work publicly.

(3) Presentation rights

This is the exclusive right to present his work publicly on a screen or the like.

(4) Public transmission rights

This is the exclusive right to transmit his work directly to the public by means of wire/wireless cables.

(5) Recitation rights

This is the exclusive right to recite his literary work publicly.

(6) Exhibition rights

This is the exclusive right to exhibit publicly the original of his artistic work or his unpublished photographic work.

(7) Distribution rights

This is the exclusive right to transfer or lend copies of his cinematographic work publicly.

(8) Transfer of ownership rights

This is the exclusive right to offer his work, except a cinematographic work, to the public by transfer of ownership of the original or copies of the work.

(9) Lending rights

This is the exclusive right to offer his work, except a cinematographic work, to the public by lending copies of the work.

(10) Translation, adaptation, modification, etc. rights

These are the exclusive rights to create a derivative work by means of applying creative actions, such as translation, musical arrangement, transformation, dramatization, cinematization, or other adaptation of his work.

(11) Exploitation of derivative work rights

The author of the original work has the same rights as the author of the derivative work, such as a translator or a music arranger in the exploitation of a derivative work.

Q4: How long does copyright protection exists?

A4: The term of protection of a work ordinarily endures for the author's life plus 50 years. If the work is anonymous or pseudonymous and its author is not specified, copyright protection endures for 50 years after the work became public.If it is clear that 50 years have already passed since the author’s death, the copyright is deemed to have expired 50 years after the author’s death.

Copyright of a work having corporate ownership or a cinematographic work will continue to subsist for a period of 50 years after the work became public. If the work was not made public within 50 years following its creation, the copyright expires at the end of the period of 50 years binning on the date of work’s creation.

Q5: What formalities are required for copyright protection?

A5: Copyright is granted automatically when the work is created; therefore no legal formality is required to secure the copyright.There is, however, a copyright registration system to provide a public record of the copyright claims.

Q6: What are “Neighboring Rights”?

A6: ”Neighboring Rights” are granted to those who play roles in the communication of the works to the public, but do not create works themselves. Examples include performers, phonograph record producers and wire/wireless broadcasters.As with copyright, no legal formalities are required to secure neighboring rights.

Q7: Are foreign works protected in Japan?

A7: Yes."Berne Convention" and “Universal Copyright Convention” protect copyright of the foreign works, while "Performers Convention" and "Phonograms Convention" protect Neighboring Rights.Many countries provide protection to foreign works through such treaties and conventions.