Copyright Act

If a broadcaster seeking to broadcast a work that has been made public requests the copyright owner to agree to authorize its broadcast of the work, but an agreement cannot be reached or deliberations about this cannot be entered into, the broadcaster may broadcast the work pursuant to a compulsory license by the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and after paying compensation to the copyright owner in the amount that has been fixed by the Commissioner as equivalent to the ordinary rate of royalties.

A work that is broadcast pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph may also be cablecast, be transmitted by automatic public transmission (including making the work available for transmission by inputting information to an automatic public transmission server connected to a public telecommunications network) solely for the purpose of being received in the broadcast area of that broadcast, or be communicated publicly through a receiver. In this case, except in a case to which the provisions of Article 38, paragraphs (2) and (3) apply, the person that makes that cablecast, automatic public transmission or communication must pay the copyright owner compensation in an amount equivalent to the ordinary rate of royalties.

Once a commercial phonogram has been sold for the first time in Japan and three years have elapsed since the date of its first sale, if a person seeking to make a sound recording of a musical work whose sound has been recorded onto that phonogram with the authorization of the copyright owner and to thereby produce a different commercial phonogram, requests the copyright owner to agree to authorize that person to make such a sound recording or to make such a commercial phonogram available to the public through its transfer, but an agreement cannot be reached or deliberations about this cannot be entered into, the person may make such a sound recording or make such a commercial phonogram available to the public through its transfer pursuant to a compulsory license by the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs and after paying compensation to the copyright owner in the amount that has been fixed by the Commissioner as equivalent to the ordinary rate of royalties.

An applicant for a compulsory license referred to in Article 67, paragraph (1); Article 68, paragraph (1); or the preceding Article must pay an application fee in the amount that has been fixed by Cabinet Order in consideration of actual costs.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply if the person that would be required to pay the fee pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph is the national government or an incorporated administrative agency specified by Cabinet Order in consideration of the content of its business and other circumstances (referred to as the "national or local government or equivalent corporation" in Article 78, paragraph (6) and Article 107, paragraph (2)).

Upon receipt of an application for the compulsory license referred to in Article 68, paragraph (1) or the preceding Article, the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs must notify the copyright owner affected by the application of this, and must afford the copyright owner an opportunity to express an opinion, specifying an adequate period of time for this.

If the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs has received an application for a compulsory license referred to in Article 67, paragraph (1), Article 68, paragraph (1) or the preceding Article but finds the circumstances to fall under either of the following items, the commissioner must not issue the compulsory license:

the author clearly intends to discontinue the printing or other exploitation of the work; or

there are unavoidable circumstances for the copyright owner's inability to authorize the broadcast of the work to which the application for a compulsory license referred to in Article 68, paragraph (1) pertains.

When seeking to issue a disposition denying an applicant the compulsory license referred to in the preceding paragraph (unless the disposition denying the applicant the compulsory license is issued pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (7)) the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs must notify the applicant of the reasons for this in advance and afford the applicant an opportunity to explain the applicant's position and furnish evidence in the applicant's favor, and if the commissioner issues the disposition denying the applicant that compulsory license, the commissioner must notify the applicant of this in writing, accompanied by the reasons for this.

Upon issuing the compulsory license referred to in Article 67, paragraph (1), the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs must issue a public notice of this in the Official Gazette as well as notifying the applicant, and upon issuing the compulsory license referred to in Article 68, paragraph (1) or the preceding Article, the Commissioner must notify the relevant parties of this.

If there has been a petition from a user with a pending application to withdraw that user's application for the compulsory license referred to in Article 67, paragraph (1), the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs is to issue a disposition denying the applicant the compulsory license.

Beyond what is provided for in the preceding paragraphs, any necessary particulars involved in the compulsory licenses referred to in this Section are provided by Cabinet Order.

When fixing the amount of compensation referred to in Article 33, paragraph (2) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (4) of that Article); Article 33-2, paragraph (2); Article 67, paragraph (1); Article 67-2, paragraph (4); Article 68, paragraph (1); or Article 69, the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs must consult with the Culture Council.

A party that is dissatisfied with the amount of compensation fixed based on the provisions of Article 67, paragraph (1); Article 67-2, paragraph (4); Article 68, paragraph (1); or Article 69, may bring an action to increase or decrease the amount of compensation, within a period of six months from the date on which the party learns that a compulsory license under any of these provisions (or a disposition denying the compulsory license referred to in Article 67, paragraph (1), in cases referred to in Article 67-2, paragraph (4)) has been issued.

In an action referred to in the preceding paragraph, the copyright owner must be the defendant if the person bringing the action is the person exploiting the work, and the person exploiting the work must be the defendant if the person bringing the action is the copyright owner.

In a request for review concerning a disposition granting or denying the compulsory license referred to in Article 67, paragraph (1); Article 68, paragraph (1); or Article 69, dissatisfaction with the amount of compensation subject to the disposition granting or denying that compulsory license may not be used as grounds for dissatisfaction with the disposition granting or denying the compulsory license; provided, however, that this does not apply if the person that was issued the disposition granting or denying the compulsory license referred to in Article 67, paragraph (1) is unable to bring the action referred to in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article because the copyright owner is unknown or for other similar reasons.

In the following cases, a person that is required to pay the compensation referred to in Article 33, paragraph (2) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (4) of that Article); Article 33-2, paragraph (2); Article 68, paragraph (1); or Article 69 must deposit the compensation instead of paying it:

the copyright owner refuses or is unable to receive the compensation;

through no fault of the person required to pay, the copyright owner cannot be identified;

the person required to pay brings an action as referred to in Article 72, paragraph (1) with respect to the amount of compensation;

a pledge has been established on the copyright (this excludes when authorization has been obtained from the pledgee).

If the copyright owner so requests, in cases referred to in item (iii) of the preceding paragraph, the person that is required to pay compensation must pay the sum that accords with the person's own calculations and deposit the difference between the sum that person calculates and the amount of compensation as per the compulsory license.

A deposit of compensation under the provisions of Article 67, paragraph (1), Article 67-2, paragraph (4) or the preceding two paragraphs, or a deposit of collateral under the provisions of paragraph (1) of Article 67-2, is to be made at the deposit office nearest to the known domicile or residence of the copyright owner, if the copyright owner is domiciled or resides in Japan, or at the deposit office nearest to the domicile or residence of the depositor in any other case.

A person that makes a deposit referred to in the preceding paragraph must promptly notify the copyright owner of that deposit; provided, however, that this does not apply if the copyright owner cannot be notified due to reasons such as the copyright owner being unknown.

The author of an anonymous or pseudonymous work that has been made public, may have the author's true name registered to that work, regardless of whether the author currently owns the copyright.

An author may have the registration referred to in the preceding paragraph made after the author's death by the person designated in the author's will.

A person whose true name has been registered is presumed to be the author of the work to which the registration pertains.

The copyright owner or the publisher of an anonymous or pseudonymous work may have the date of first publication or the date first made public registered for that work.

A work whose date of first publication or date first made public is registered is presumed to have been first published or first made public on the registered date.

The author of a work of computer programming may have the date of creation of the work registered; provided, however, that this does not apply after six months have passed since the creation of that work.

A work of computer programming that has been registered as referred to in the preceding paragraph is presumed to have been created on the registered date.

The following particulars may not be asserted against a third party unless they are registered:

the transfer of a copyright (except a transfer by inheritance or by any other general succession; the same applies in the following item), its alteration as a result of a trust, or a restriction on its disposal;

the establishment, transfer, alteration, or expiration of a pledge on a copyright (except when due to comingling or to the expiration of the copyright or the claim it secures), or a restriction on its disposal.

The registrations referred to in Article 75, paragraph (1); Article 76, paragraph (1); Article 76-2, paragraph (1); and the preceding Article are made by the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, who enters or records them in the copyright register.

The copyright register may be prepared in whole or in part using magnetic discs (this includes any object on which it is possible to reliably record a fixed set of data using equivalent means; the same applies in paragraph (4)), pursuant to Cabinet Order.

When the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs has made a registration referred to in Article 75, paragraph (1), the Commissioner issues a public notice of this in the Official Gazette.

Any person may enter a request with the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs to be delivered a certified copy or a certified abstract of entries in the copyright register or a copy of its annexed documents, to inspect the register or its annexed documents, or to be delivered documents detailing information recorded in a portion of the copyright register that has been prepared using magnetic discs.

A person entering a request referred to in the preceding paragraph must pay the fee that has been fixed by Cabinet Order in consideration of actual costs.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply if the person that would be required to pay the fee pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph is the national or local government or equivalent corporation.

The provisions of Chapters II and III of the Administrative Procedure Act (Act No. 88 of 1993) do not apply to measures taken in connection with registrations referred to in paragraph (1).

The provisions of the Act on Access to Administrative Organs' Information do not apply to the copyright register and its annexed documents.

The provisions of Chapter IV of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information Held by Administrative Organs (Act No. 58 of 2003) do not apply to retained personal information (meaning the Retained Personal Information set forth in Article 2, paragraph (5) of that Act) that is recorded in the copyright register and its annexed documents.

Beyond what is provided for in this Section, any necessary particulars connected with the registration referred to in paragraph (1) are provided by Cabinet Order.

Beyond what is provided for in this Section, the particulars of the registration of works of computer programming are as provided separately by law.