Copyright Law of Japan

    Chapter III Print Rights

    (Establishment of Print Rights)

     Article 79 (1) The owner of the right set forth in Article 21 or Article 23, para-graph (1) (hereinafter in this Chapter referred to as "the owner of reproduction rights or public transmission rights") may establish a print right in favor of a person that undertakes to either print the work as a piece of writing or as a picture (this includes recording the work on a recording medium in a format that makes it possible to use a computer to display the work as a piece of writing or picture on a computer screen, and distributing the copy of that work that has been recorded onto that recording medium; referred to as "the act of printing" in Article 80, paragraph (2) and Article 81, item (i)) or to transmit the work to the public (this in includes making it transmittable, other than through a broadcast or cablecast, if the work is transmitted via automatic public transmission; hereinafter the same applies in this Chapter) using a copy of that work that has been recorded on a recording medium in the relevant format (referred to as "the act of public transmission" in Article 80, paragraph (2) and Article 81, item (ii)).

     (2) If a pledge has been established on the right of reproduction or right to trans-mit to the public, the owner of reproduction rights or public transmission rights may establish print rights only with the authorization of the pledgee.

    (The Substance of Print Rights)

     Article 80 (1) The owner of print rights exclusively holds all or part of the fol-lowing rights to the work that is subject to those print rights, pursuant to the act of establishment:

      (i) the right to reproduce the unaltered original work for the purpose of distri-bution, as a piece of writing or as a picture, by printing it or by other mechanical or chemical means (including the right to reproduce the unaltered work as an elec-tronic or magnetic record recorded on a recording medium in a format provided for in Article 79, paragraph (1));

      (ii) the right to transmit the unaltered work to the public using a copy of that work that has been recorded on a recording medium in a format provided for in Article 79, paragraph (1).

     (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, if the author of a work dies during the life of the print rights, or, unless otherwise stipulated in the act of establishment, after three years have passed since the first act of printing or act of public transmission (referred to as the "act of printing or public transmission" in Arti-cle 83, paragraph (2) and Article 84, paragraph (3)) following the establishment of the print rights, the owner of the reproduction rights or public transmission rights may reproduce such work or transmit such work to the public by compiling the relevant work in a complete collection of works or other compilation (limited to one in which only the works of that author are compiled).

     (3) The owner of print rights may authorize another person to reproduce the work that is the subject of those print rights or transmit that work to the public only after having obtained the consent of the owner of reproduction rights or public trans-mission rights.

     (4) The provisions of Article 63, paragraphs (2), (3) and (5) apply mutatis mutan-dis to cases provided for in the preceding paragraph. In this case, the term "the copy-right owner" in paragraph (3) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "the owner of reproduction rights or public transmission rights and the owner of print rights pro-vided in Article 79, paragraph (1)" and the phrase "Article 23, paragraph (1)" in para-graph (5) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "Article 80, paragraph (1) (limited to the part concerned with item (ii))".

    (Obligation to Print)

     Article 81 The owner of print rights has the obligation set forth in the relevant of the following items for the category set forth in that item in connection with the work subject to the print right; provided, however, that this does not apply if otherwise stipulated in the act of establishment:

      (i) the owner of print rights connected with the rights provided for in Article 80, paragraph (1), item (i) (referred to as "the owner of item (i) print rights" in the fol-lowing Article) has the following obligations:

       (a) the obligation to undertake the act of printing for a work within a period of six months after the date on which the owner of print rights has been trans-ferred the manuscript or other original copies or anything else equivalent thereto or been provided with the electronic or magnetic record of the work that is nec-essary for reproducing the work, by the owner of the reproduction rights or pub-lic transmission rights;

       (b) the obligation to continually undertake the act of printing for the work in conformity with business practices;

      (ii) the owner of print rights connected with the rights provided for in Article 80, paragraph (1), item (ii) (referred to as "the owner of item (ii) print rights"in paragraph (1), item (ii) of the following Article) has the following obligations:

       (a) the obligation to undertake the act of public transmission for a work within a period of six months after the date on which the owner of print rights has been transferred the manuscript or other original copies or anything else equivalent thereto or been provided with the electronic or magnetic record of the work that is necessary for transmitting the work to the public, by the owner of the reproduction rights or public transmission rights;

       (b) the obligation to continually undertake the act of public transmission for the work in conformity with business practices.

    (Adjustments, Additions, and Deletions in a Work)

     Article 82 (1) In any of the following cases, the author may make adjustments, additions, or deletions in that work within a scope that is justified:

      (i) the owner of item (i) print rights reproduces the work again;

      (ii) the owner of item (ii) print rights transmits the work to the public.

     (2) Each time the owner of item (i) print rights seeks to reproduce a work subject to the print rights the owner owns again, the owner must notify the author of this in advance.

    (Duration of Print Rights)

     Article 83 (1) The duration of print rights is as stipulated in the act of establish-ment.

     (2) Unless otherwise stipulated in the act of establishment, print rights expire on the day on which three years have elapsed following the first act of printing or public transmission is undertaken after the establishment of those rights.

    (Claim to the Extinguishment of Print Rights)

     Article 84 (1) If the owner of print rights breaches the obligation referred to in Article 81, item (i) (limited to the part concerned with (a)) or item (ii) (limited to the part concerned with (a)), the owner of reproduction rights or public transmission rights may extinguish the print rights connected to the rights provided for in the rele-vant of Article 80, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii), by notifying the owner of print rights.

     (2) If the owner of print rights breaches the obligation referred to in Article 81, item (i) (limited to the part concerned with (b)) or item (ii) (limited to the part con-cerned with (b)), and, notwithstanding that the owner of reproduction rights, etc. has specified a period of at least three months and called upon the owner of print rights to perform the obligation within that period, the owner of the print rights does not per-form that obligation within that period, the owner of reproduction rights or public transmission rights may extinguish the print rights connected to the rights provided for in the relevant of Article 80, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii) by notifying the owner of print rights.

     (3) If the convictions of an author that is the owner of reproduction rights or pub-lic transmission rights come to differ from the content of the author's own work, the author may extinguish the print rights to that work by notifying the owner of the print rights of this, in order to stop the act of printing or public transmission of that work; provided, however, that this does not apply if the author does not compensate the owner of print rights in advance for the damages that would usually arise from such stoppage.

     Article 85 [Deleted]

    (Limitations on Print Rights)

     Article 86 (1) The provisions of Article 30, paragraph (1) (except item (iii); the same applies in following paragraph); Article 30-2, paragraph (2); Article 30-3; Article 30-4; Article 31, paragraph (1) and the second sentence of paragraph (3); Article 32; Article 33, paragraph (1) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the pro-visions of paragraph (4) of that Article); Article 33-2, paragraphs (1) and (4); Article 34, paragraph (1); Article 35, paragraph (1); Article 36, paragraph (1); Article 37; Arti-cle 37-2; Article 39, paragraph (1); Article 40, paragraphs (1) and (2); Articles 41 through 42-2; Article 42-3, paragraph (2) Article 46; Article 47, paragraphs (1) and (3); Article 47-2; Articles 47-4 and 47-5 apply mutatis mutandis to the reproduction of works subject to print rights. In this case, the term "copyright owner"in the proviso to Article 30-2, paragraph (2); Article 30-3; the proviso to Article 30-4; the proviso to Article 35, paragraph (1); the proviso to Article 42, paragraph (1); the provisos to Ar-ticle 47, paragraphs (1) and (3); Article 47-2; the provisos to Article 47-4, paragraphs

    (1)and(2); and the provisos to Article 47-5, paragraphs (1) and (2) is deemed to be replaced with "owner of print rights" and the term "copyright"in the proviso to Arti-cle 47-5, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "print rights".

     (2) The following persons are deemed to have undertaken the reproduction re-ferred to in Article 80, paragraph (1), item (i):

      (i) a person distributing a copy of a work that has been created based on the application of the provisions of Article 30, paragraph (1); Article 30-3; Article 31, paragraph (1), item (i) or the second sentence of paragraph (3); Article 33-2, para-graph (1) or (4); Article 35, paragraph (1); Article 37, paragraph (3); the first sen-tence of Article 37-2 (or item (ii) of that Article, in a case referred to in that item); Articles 41 through 42-2; Article 42-3, paragraph (2); Article 47, paragraph (1) or (3); Article 47-2; or Article 47-5, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph, or presents that work to the public by means of such a copy, for a purpose other than what is provided for in those provisions;

      (ii) a person using a copy of a work that has been created based on the applica-tion of the provisions of Article 30-4 as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph to exploit that work with the purpose of personally enjoying or causing another person to enjoy the thoughts or sentiments expressed therein, irrespective of the manner in which the person exploits it;

      (iii) a person using a copy of a work that has been created based on the appli-cation of the provisions of Article 47-4 or Article 47-5, paragraph (2) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph, to exploit that work for a purpose other than what is provided for in those provisions, irrespective of the manner in which the person exploits it.

     (3) The provisions of Article 30-2, paragraph (2); Article 30-3; Article 30-4; Article31, the first sentence of paragraph (3); Article 32 paragraph (1); Article 33-2, para-graph (4); Article 35, paragraph (2); Article 36, paragraph (1); Article 37, paragraphs (2) and (3); Article 37-2 (except item (i)); Article 40, paragraph (1); Articles 41; Article 42-2, Article 42-3, paragraph (2); Article 46; Article 47, paragraphs (2) and (3): Article 47-2; Article 47-4; and Article 47-5 apply mutatis mutandis to the public transmission of works subject to print rights. In this case, the term "copyright owner" in the proviso to Article 30-2, paragraph (2); Article 30-3; the proviso to Article 30-4; Article 35, par-agraph (2); the proviso to Article 36, paragraph (1); the provisos to Article 47, para-graphs (2) and (3); Article 47-2; the provisos to Article 47-4, paragraphs (1) and (2); and the provisos to Article 47-5, paragraphs (1) and (2) is deemed to be replaced with "print rights", and the term "copyright" in the proviso to Article 47-5, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "print rights".

    (Transfer or Pledge of Print Rights)

     Article 87 All or part of a person's print rights may be transferred or pledged only with the authorization of the owner of reproduction rights or public transmission rights.

    (Registration of Print Rights)

     Article 88 (1) The following particulars may not be asserted against a third party unless they are registered:

      (i) the establishment of a print right, its transfer (except a transfer by inher-itance or other general succession; the same applies in the following item), altera-tion, extinguishment (except when due to comingling, or because of the extinguish-ment of the right of reproduction or right to transmit to the public), or a restriction on its disposal;

      (ii) the establishment, transfer, alteration, or termination of a right of pledge established on a print right (except when due to a merger of the right of pledge, or because of the termination of the print rights or the claim they secure), or a restric-tion on its disposal.

     (2) The provisions of Article 78 (except paragraph (3)) apply mutatis mutandis to the registration referred to in the preceding paragraph. In this case, the term "copy-right register" in Article 78, paragraphs (1), (2), (4), (8), and (9) is deemed to be re-placed with "register of print rights".

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