Japan Adds New Clause To Its Anti-Online Piracy Law

Last year, the Japanese government came up with a law that would ban the illegal downloading of media from the internet.

However, it later got deferred after receiving a backlash from manga artists and experts who said the bill was too broad and could lead to restraints on freedom of expression.

Japanese government ever since was looking for better solutions and finally came with a revised proposal that exempts “minor offenses” and “special instances,” which do not impair the interests of copyright owners.

The government on Tuesday approved the bill to expand the nation’s anti-online piracy law to encompass manga, magazines, and academic texts.

Source: https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO56598380Q0A310C2CR0000/

The previous law only applied to music and videos, but after this revision, those found guilty of illegally accessing manga, and other copyrighted texts will face the same criminal charges. 

Penalties for repeat offenders could include jail sentences of up to two years or a maximum of ¥2 million ($19,400) fine or both. Even those operating a leech website providing users with links to download so-called torrent files of pirated materials will face penalties of up to five years in jail or a maximum ¥5 million fine, or both.

Technology minister Koichi Hagiuda said in a press conference:

“We struck the right balance between securing effective measures against piracy and avoiding people from being discouraged in efforts to collect information.”

The Cultural Affairs Agency listed some exemptions as well: 

• downloads that are “limited to one frame from a ten plus page manga” and “saving a post about a poster advertising an event that was put on a social networking site without permission.”

• Downloading fan fiction works, and taking screenshots of non-copyrighted images will not be illegal.

About Copyright law of Japan:

Japan protected copyrighted works for 50 years after the author’s death (or 50 years after publication for unknown authors and corporations).

However, in 2004 Japan extended the copyright term to 70 years for cinematographic works. At the end of 2018, as a result of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, the 70-year term was applied to all works. 

The definitive version of Japanese law regarding copyright exists only in Japanese text. An official English-language translation of the law does not exist.

Still, the Japanese Ministry of Justice has a website called “Japanese Law Translation” where one can search for Japanese laws and their unofficial English translation.

IP laws such as the Patent Act, Copyright Act, Trademark Act, Design Act, and Unfair Competition Prevention Act are included there.