Copyright Act

Broadcasters enjoy the rights provided for in Articles 98 through 100.

Cablecasters enjoy the rights provided for in Articles 100-2 to 100-5.

Enjoyment of the rights referred to in the preceding paragraphs requires no formalities.

The rights referred to in paragraphs (1) through (4) (except the moral rights of performers as well as the right to remuneration and the right to secondary use fees referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2)) are called neighboring rights.

The provisions of this Chapter must not be interpreted as affecting the protection of the rights of authors.

A performer has the right to decide whether to use the performer's name, stage name, or any other name to indicate the name of the performer in connection with the performance at the time it is made available or presented to the public, or to decide that the performer's name will not be indicated in connection with that performance.

Unless the performer has manifested a different intention, a person exploiting a performance may indicate the name of the performer in accordance with how the performer has already done so in connection with that performance.

The name of the performer may be omitted if it is found that doing so is unlikely to harm the interests of the performer in a claim to being the performer in that performance, in light of the purpose and circumstances of its exploitation, or if the omission is found to be compatible with fair practices.

The provisions of paragraph (1) do not apply in any of the following cases:

the performance is made available or presented to the public by the head of an administrative organ or by an incorporated administrative agency, etc., a local government agency, or a local incorporated administrative agency pursuant to the provisions of the Act on Access to Administrative Organs' Information, the Act on Access to Incorporated Administrative Agencies' Information, or information disclosure ordinance, and the name of the performer is indicated in accordance with how the performer has already done so for that performance;

the performance is made available or presented to the public by the head of an administrative organ, an incorporated administrative agency, etc., a local government agency, or a local incorporated administrative agency, pursuant to the provisions of Article 6, paragraph (2) of the Act on Access to Administrative Organs' Information, the provisions of Article 6, paragraph (2) of the Act on Access to Incorporated Administrative Agencies' Information, or the provisions of information disclosure ordinance that are equivalent to the provisions of Article 6, paragraph (2) of the Act on Access to Administrative Organs' Information, and it is a case in which the name of the performer is to be omitted.

the performance is made available or presented to the public by the head of the National Archives of Japan, etc. or the head of local archives, etc. pursuant to the provisions of Article 16, paragraph (1) of the Public Records Management Act or the provisions of public records management ordinance (limited to the provisions equivalent to those of that paragraph), and the name of the performer is indicated in accordance with how the performer has already done so for that performance.

A performer has the right to preserve the integrity of the performance, and is not to be made to suffer any alteration, cut, or other modification to it that would damage the performer's honor or reputation.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to modifications that are found to be unavoidable in light of the nature of the performance as well as the purpose and circumstances of its exploitation, nor to modifications that are found to be compatible with fair practices.

A performer has the exclusive right to record the sound and visuals of that performer's performance.

Unless the sound of a performance is recorded as a sound recording (other than one that is intended to be played exclusively alongside images), the provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to the sound or visuals of a performance that are recorded as part of a cinematographic work with the authorization of the owner of the right referred to in that paragraph.

A performer has the exclusive right to broadcast and cablecast that performer's performance.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply in the following cases:

the cablecast is of a broadcast performance;

the broadcast or cablecast is of one of the following performances:

a performance whose sound or visuals have been recorded with the authorization of the owner of the right provided for in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article;

a performance referred to in paragraph (2) of the preceding Article that has undergone sound recording or visual recording on an object other than a sound recording referred to in that paragraph.

A performer has the exclusive right to make that performer's performance available for transmission.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to any of the following performances:

a performance whose visuals have been recorded with the authorization of the owner of the right provided for in Article 91, paragraph (1);

a performance referred to in Article 91, paragraph (2) whose sound or visuals have been recorded other than as a sound recording referred to in that paragraph.

A broadcaster that obtains the authorization to broadcast a performance from the owner of the rights provided for in Article 92, paragraph (1), may record the sound or visuals of that performance for the purpose of broadcasting or simultaneous broadcasting;, provided, however, that this does not apply if otherwise stipulated in the contract or if the sound or visuals are recorded with the purpose of using them in a broadcast program of a different content than the broadcast program under authorization.

The following persons are deemed to have recorded the sound or visuals as referred to in Article 91, paragraph (1):

a person that uses or makes available a sound or visual recording made pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, for a purpose other than broadcasting or simultaneous broadcasting or for the purpose referred to in the proviso to that paragraph;

a broadcaster or simultaneous broadcasting service that receives a sound or visual recording being made available that has been made pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, and that further makes it available for another broadcaster's broadcasting or another simultaneous broadcasting service's simultaneous broadcasting.

Unless otherwise stipulated in the contract, if the owner of the right provided for in Article 92, paragraph (1) authorizes the broadcast of a performance, in addition to it being permissible to make the broadcast under that authorization, it is also permissible to make the following broadcasts:

a broadcast using the sound and visual recordings that the authorized broadcaster makes pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article;

a broadcast made based on the reception of a sound or visual recording made available by the authorized broadcaster that has made that sound or visual recording pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article;

a broadcast made based on the reception of an authorized broadcast program supplied by the authorized broadcaster (other than a broadcast under the preceding item).

If a performance is broadcast in a broadcast set forth in one of the items of the preceding paragraph, the broadcaster provided for in that item must pay a reasonable amount of remuneration to the owner of the right provided for in Article 92, paragraph (1).