Revisiting the Argument of the "Re-examination of the Scope of Illegal Downloading"

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to revisit the argument of the "Re-examination of the Scope of Illegal Downloading" of the contemplated revision of the Japanese Copyright Act in order to contribute to a better understanding of an important area of intellectual property law and information law.
　The expansion of the scope of illegal downloading was primarily understood as a countermeasure to combat "piracy", especially targeting unauthorized dissemination of "manga" contents on the internet. However, the regulation of the proposed bill prepared by the Agency for Cultural Affairs was so extensive that it would have had a serious chilling effect on the collection of information in our everyday activities. Although a number of committee members expressed strong reservations about the proposal, the council report was finalized.
　During the examination process within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the circumstances repeatedly shifted because of the wide-ranging opposition from various creators including the Japan Cartoonists Association. Amid the resulting political turmoil, the submission of the bill was finally postponed.
　This author was involved both in the discussion at the committee under the council and the lobbying of several LDP politicians. Based on this direct experience, this article reviews the current state of the rule-making process and identifies various problems related to this issue. By doing so, the author would like to present lessons for the future policy-making and rule-making in the area of intellectual property law and information law.