Copy protection in Japan

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"Copyright protection is an urgent task, but excessive protection allowing no copying may damage the functioning of society, which grows with impartiality and imitation" (The Japan Times Online, 21 February 2002).

Examples

Here is some example. Another example of trusted systems is even closer by home: downloadable tunes for mobile phones. The only way to get these tunes is by creating a sort of user account on a provider's website and agreeing with a click-wrap contract that allows you to download a certain amount of tunes for X Yen. This kind of system is in fact a sort of trusted system, although we are maybe not aware of it. Mamoru Kato, a JASRAC executive, said during a press conference after having set new fees (in cooperation with the Network Music Rights Conference) for downloadable tunes that "the(se) new agreements will help enlighten Internet users, many of whom believe music can freely be copied from the Net. We have to teach them that you shouldn't use other people's assets for free, by opening up a legal window for them to use" (The Japan Times Online, 18 August 2000). In other words, the clever user who tries to free ride on the original genius of the creator of this or that tune has to be educated and is forced to participate in a trusted system in order to obtain the desired tunes. Did anybody talk about fair use or else, the reach of the public domain? No.

And there are more examples. Think for instance about the fact that very soon CDs will be copy-protected in Japan (Avex and Warner Music Japan sell already copy-protected CDs) (The Japan Times Online, 21 December 2002; ibid. 3 April 2002). Steven McClure, journalist for The Japan Times Online and author of the latter quoted article comments on this evolution with skepticism. His statement: "Many people, though, say copy-protected (or copy-controlled) CDs go against the concept of "fair use" - which means the user should be able to make copies of entertainment software as long as they're for personal use. One problem, of course, is defining just where personal use ends and illegitimate copying begins." (The Japan Times Online, 3 April 2002). And what about the copy-once system - a system that allows you to record television programs only once - which is now in a test phase in Japan, but will probably be used in the near future by several broadcasting companies (The Japan Times Online, 21 February 2002)?

In the book "Copyright System in Japan", written by the Japan Copyright Office, the title of this section is "(t)o secure the effectiveness of rights by utilizing new technologies" (Japan Copyright Office 2001, 32). This is another example that shows clearly that the Japanese government considers code as a tool that can be used to enforce copyright legislation. There is no mention of possible negative side-effects concerning fair use (limitation on rights) or the reach of the public domain.

In the section about the "(r)egulation of the circumvention of technological measures such as copy protection, etc.", it is stated that "transfer to the public (of) the ownership of, and manufacture, etc. of, the devices to circumvent technological measures (e.g. copy protection) which prevent copying of videogram (sic) or music CD without authorization are regulated by the (sic) criminal penalty" (Japan Copyright Office 2001, 32). It is quite clear that by this regulation, it becomes impossible to circumvent the copyright-protection of intellectual property in the context of fair use. This means that when a CD, etc. is copyright-protected, there is not only technically no space for fair use, but also from the legislative side there is no support for copying in the context of fair use.

The "(r)egulation of the alteration etc. of the rights management information" section strengthens the first regulation by saying that it is forbidden to remove right management information attached to the work. However, it is to be said that this provision an sich doesn't seem to limit immediately the reach of the public domain. Mentioning the source, etc. of the quoted material is generally considered as appropriate.

Another example is the harsh reality that it is impossible to play copyright-protected CDs on the CD-ROM drive of a computer. Imagine a businessman traveling with the Shinkansen, who likes to listen to his favorite (copyright-protected) CD by means of earplugs and a multimedia player installed on his laptop. What about his "right" to play CDs on his laptop? Why is he obliged to buy a portable CD-player, instead of using the CD-ROM drive? These examples show that, if trusted systems (and look-alikes) want to play an important role in the future without intruding on anonymity, etc., one will have to incorporate these values as gaps in the architecture of these trusted systems. It is to be doubted that this will happen.