Japan Strengthens Copyright Law; Plans Piracy Talks With China

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2009 - 9:53am.

Tokyo - Japan's parliament has amended its Copyright Law to make it illegal for users to download copyrighted materials that have not been uploaded with right holders' permission, Billboard reports.

However, the law does not provide for any fines or jail time for offenders, who additionally must be shown to be aware they knew the files they downloaded were uploaded illegally.

"We are thankful to those concerned who supported this statue. Our organization will continue its work to stop all copyright infringement and will make our best effort to inform the public of the changes to the law," said Kei Ishizaka, CEO of the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), which lobbied for the legislation.

The passage of the amendments to Japan's Copyright Law comes as the country's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry said over the weekend that he signed a memorandum of understanding with his Chinese counterpart, to joint crack down on copyright infringement, Agence France-Presse reported.

The first round of talks, which are expected to take place later this year, will cover Japanese complaints of China's production of counterfeit and pirated goods, including DVDs.

They are also expected to discuss stricter punishments for copyright violations.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/k8yr3 (Billboard)

http://snipurl.com/k94xp (AFP)