1 Process of Amendment
Act for Partial Amendment of the Copyright Act (Act No. 33 of 2023) was enacted on May 17, 2023 and promulgated on May 26, 2023. The major amendments and the effective date are explained in 2 below.
2 Major Amendments and Effective Date
2-1 Establishment of a new adjudication system for the use of copyrighted works, etc. (Effective from the date prescribed by Cabinet Order within 3 years from May 26, 2023.)
2-1-1 Establishment of an adjudication system by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs to facilitate the use of works for which the intention of the authors, etc. as to whether or not the work may be used cannot be confirmed.
A person who intends to use a published work, etc., which is not centrally controlled and for which no information is published to smoothly confirm the intention of the author, etc., regarding the availability of use, may use the work, etc. for a prescribed period of time by depositing compensation, subject to an award by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, if the intention of the author, etc. cannot be confirmed despite measures taken to confirm the intension of the author, etc.
2-1-2 Implementation of affairs by a private contact organization to simplify the procedures of the adjudication system by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs.
A private contact organization registered by the Commissioner for the Cultural Affairs may perform part of the administrative work related to the acceptance of applications, confirmation of requirements, and determination of the amount of compensation under the adjudication system by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs.
2-2 Measures to enable public transmission of copyrighted works, etc. in legislative and administrative Sectors (Effective as of January 1, 2024)
2-2-1 Public transmission, etc. of internal legislative or administrative materials through cloud computing, etc.
If deemed necessary as an internal document for legislative or administrative purposes, the copyrighted works may be publicly transmitted, etc. only between users of internal materials to the extent necessary.
2-2-2 Public transmission, etc. for administrative procedures, etc. such as patent examination, etc.
With regard to administrative procedures and administrative trial procedures such as patent examination, etc., works may be publicly transmitted, etc., to the extent deemed necessary in response to digitization.
2-3 Amendment of the calculation method of damages to ensure effective remedies for damage caused by piracy, etc. (Effective as of January 1, 2024)
2-3-1 Determination of amount equivalent to license fee for calculation based on the quantity of infringing goods transferred
Even in cases where the quantity of infringing goods transferred exceeds the right holder’s ability to sell, etc., it will be possible to determine damages for the amount equivalent to lost royalties due to loss of licensing opportunities.
2-3-2 Clarification of factors to be considered for the amount equivalent to the license fee
Stipulate that in calculating the amount equivalent to the license fee to be recognized as damages, the amount that would have been determined if negotiated on the assumption that copyright infringement had occurred may be taken into account.
※ The contents of this article are intended to convey general information only and not to provide any legal advice.
Kei IIDA (Writer)
Attorney at Law & Patent Attorney (Daini Tokyo Bar Association)
Contact information for inquiries: k_iida☆nakapat.gr.jp (Please replace ☆ with @.)