1. Introduction

A partial amendment to the Copyright Act was approved by the 186th Regular Diet session on April 25, 2014 and was promulgated as Law No. 35 of 2014 on May 14, 2014. This Act came into effect on January 1, 2015 with the exception of some provisions.
Along with the amendment, relevant authorities will draft related provisions that came into effect on January 1, 2015.

2. Purposes of the Amendment

The amendment consists of (1) an amendment of provisions related to the right of publication of electronic books (e-books) and (2) an amendment to accede to the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances (hereinafter the "Treaty on Audiovisual Performances").
Amendment (1) is in response to the current trend of illegal sharing of e-books on the internet. E-books are increasingly available on the market as a result of improvements to the internet and other new IT communications. The Amendment is based on the report prepared by the Publication Subcommittee of the Copyright Subdivision of the Cultural Council and aims to create a healthy e-book market and support a richer and more diverse publishing culture by maintaining and developing print publication culture.
Amendment (2) is to take necessary actions for the Treaty on Audiovisual Performances adopted in June 2012 at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in an attempt to improve an international protection system for audiovisual performances by actors/actresses and performing artists.
The conclusion of the Treaty on Audiovisual Performances was approved at the Diet in May 2014. Please see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan website for details of the Treaty.
(http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/ila/trt/page22_000989.html)

3. Overview of the Amendment

(1) Amendment of the provisions on the right of publication in response to the rise of electronic books

The Amendment was made to review the existing system of rights of publication that only applied to print publications, and allows a person who transmits e-books online to be granted the right of publication, so that a publisher may be provided the right of publication for e-books by the copyright owner and can prohibit unapproved online transmission of the work by others. The amendment also develops other related provisions on the contents of the right of publication, the obligation of publication, and the right to terminate the right of publication if the right of publication for e-books has been established.

1. [1] Establishment of the right of publication (Paragraph 1 of Article 79)
   The holder of the right of reproduction (the right of reproduction or right of public transmission) may establish a right of publication in favor of a person who undertakes it;

   (1) to publish the work in a writing or a printing ("to publish the work in a writing or a printing" includes to record the work in digital memory with the aid of a computer for indicating on its display a writing or a printing and to transmit copies of such work recorded on such memory). [Print publishing or publishing on CD-ROM and other media]

   (2) to publicly transmit copies of such work recorded in memory by such means ("to transmit publicly" excludes broadcasting or wire diffusion, and includes making the copy transmittable in the case of interactive transmission; the same shall apply hereinafter). [Electronic publishing on the internet]

   This allows a person who undertakes electronic publishing on CD-ROM or on the internet to establish the right of publication by means of a contract for establishing the right of publication with the copyright owner of the work (the owner of the reproduction rights).
2. [2]The contents of the right of publication (Paragraph 1 and 3 of Article 80)
   The owner of the right of publication shall, as stipulated in the contract of establishment, have any or all of the following exclusive rights in relation to the work on which the right of publication is established:

   (1) the exclusive right to reproduce the original text of such work, in writing or print, by means of typography or other mechanical or chemical processes for the purpose of transmission (including the exclusive right to reproduce the original text of such work on electro-magnetic records stored in digital memory, with the aid of a computer, for showing writing or an imprint on its display)

   (2) the exclusive right to publicly transmit copies of the original text of such work stored in digital memory with the aid of a computer for indicating on its display a writing or a printing.

   This allows the owner of the right of publication to have the exclusive right to publicly transmit the work and prohibit online transmission of the work without permission (piracy on the internet).
   This provision also allows the owner of the right of publication to reproduce or publicly transmit the work to others only with the consent of a holder of reproduction right.
3. [3] Obligation of publication (Article 81)
   The owner of the right of publication shall have the following obligations according to the contents of the right of publication unless otherwise stipulated in the contract of establishment:

   (1) the obligation to carry out the act of publishing or public transmission, with respect to such work, within six months after the date when such owner received manuscripts or other originals

   (2) the obligation to carry out the act of publishing or public transmission, with respect to such work, continuously in conformity with business practices

4. [4] Alterations, additions or deletions of works (Article 82)
   The author may make alterations, additions or deletions in the work to the extent justified when the owner of the right of publication of print media reproduces that work again or when the owner of the right of publication of electronic media transmits that work publicly.
5. [5] Request to terminate the right of publication (Paragraph 1 and 2 of Article 84)
   When the owner of the right of publication is in breach of obligations under [3], the holder of the right of reproduction may terminate said right of publication.
6. [6] Limitations on the right of publication (Article 86)
   The provisions of limitation on the right of publication shall apply to the reproduction or public transmission of works with respect to which the right of publication has been established, according to the contents of the right of publication.
7. [7] Transitory measures (Supplementary Provision Article 3)
   The provisions of the old Law shall apply to works on which the right of publication was established before the enactment of this amendment and existed at the time of enactment of the amendment.

(2) Provisions related to amendments to accede the Treaty on Audiovisual Performances (Article 7)

In line with the accession to the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances adopted at the WIPO Conference in June 2012, protection under the Copyright Act was granted to performances made by nationals of the Contracting Parties of the Treaty or by performers who have their habitual residence in the Contracting Parties of the Treaty.

(3) Date of Enactment

The Act came into force on January 1, 2015. The provisions related to the amendment to accede the Treaty on Audiovisual Performances came into force on the date of the Treaty entering into force in Japan.