Happy New Year for 2018, again!
Last year saw a spate of copyright-related conflicts between the large Japanese music copyright institution, JASRAC, and various private music schools, businesses (where copyrighted BGM was being played), and even musicians. Japan's legal treatment of artistic expression and copyright is coming under scrutiny through these issues. How well will it be promoting the arts (artists and those learning from artists) in the years to come?
We chronicled a portion of the overall disputes in posts last year, such as here, here, here, and here.
Keisen Associates President and origami art teacher, Taro Yaguchi, dug into the issue with one of his blog posts, which is now adapted in English for a Patents and Paper blog post.
If Japan's copyright rules exist with the goal of promoting the arts, then striking a well-reasoned balance between giving incentive to artists and enjoying and sharing the art with others, then the JPO and courts will need to clarify not only the extent of the copyright into musical lessons and other creative arts. Hopefully 2018 will bring some clarity to this issue.
We hope the blog post shows how Keisen Associates is eager to promote better IP policy in Japan and aid clients with cultural or business issues there.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
