FAQ/What is copyright?

 

{FAQ} What is copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the law of Japan―i.e. the Copyright Act―to an author of a work.

You should know that there are two types of rights of the author under the Copyright Act (see Art.17(1)); “copyrights” and “moral rights.”

Although the term “copyright” is often broadly defined as all right(s) which an author or a creator of a work enjoys about his/her work, more correctly, copyrights mean economic rights by which economic (financial) interests of the author are protected. On the other hand, “moral rights” mean rights by which non-economic (personal) interests of the author are safeguarded. “Copyrights” are distinguished from “moral rights.”

Copyrights mentioned above allow the rights holder to derive financial rewards from the use of his/her work by others.

 

(ref.) Art. 17(1) of Copyright Act

The author of a work enjoys the rights provided for in paragraph (1) of the following Article; Article 19, paragraph (1); and Article 20, paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to as the "moral rights of an author"), as well as the rights provided for in Articles 21 through 28 (hereinafter referred to as "copyrights").

For more information