Japan Revises Copyright Law to Facilitate IP-Based Broadcasting
620348
Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)--Japan's House of Councillors on Friday passed into law a bill to revise the copyright law, mainly to facilitate the Internet technology-based distribution of video and audio content.
126790
An alliance of technology and media companies releases a set of principles for promoting user-generated content while protecting copyright online.
513310
Copyright officials recommended on Thursday that US law be amended so that companies that rely on copyright infringement to make a profit can be held liable for their actions.
690919
It looks grim for webcasters -- the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board announces retroactive rates, endorsing a per-play proposal by RIAA-associated SoundExchange. In Listening Post.
714466
(InfoWorld) - A broad group of companies and associations covering most of the Japanese entertainment industry is calling on YouTube to be more proactive in policing its Web site for copyrighted material. In a letter sent Monday to YouTube Chief Executive Officer Chad Hurley and Chief Technology Officer Steve Chen, the group requests YouTube start a system that proactively identifies and removes copyrighted material rather than making rights holders find it and send in complaints. "Taking into account the current status of your service, we believe that your company should not just wait for rights owners to take the 'Notice and Take down' procedures but should bear the responsibility to prevent, in advance, copyright infringements such as illegal uploads and distributions, or to avoid those infringements," said the letter, a copy of which was distributed to media Tuesday by the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC). Monday's letter is signed by JASRAC and 22 other organizations including the Motion Picture Producers' Association of Japan, the Japan Video Software Association, the Association of Japanese Animations, all of the major commercial TV broadcasters, the Japan Satellite Broadcasting Association, the Recording Industry Association of Japan, and Yahoo Japan Corp. It comes a month and a half afterÂ YouTube deleted 29,549 filesÂ based on a complaint filed by JASRAC. The association said the files in question infringed on the rights of 23 Japanese content companies. Neither that complaint or YouTube's action didn't stop users uploading content to the site, and plenty of clips from Japanese TV shows can again be found on YouTube. "We are seriously concerned about the current situation where the Notice and Takedown scheme, aimed [at preventing] copyright infringements, is not functioning well due to the large amount of illegal uploads," the letter said. "While we expect you to promptly take adequate and necessary measures to prevent copyright infringement on the YouTube Web site, until you do so, we request you to take provisional measures ... in order to prevent illegal uploads of audio-visual works, which copyrights are neither owned by the persons posting the works on the Web site themselves nor licensed by the right owners." The preventative measures requested by the group include the posting of a message in Japanese on the YouTube home page warning that posting copyrighted material can be illegal; that users may be liable to civil or criminal prosecution; and a register of names and addresses of users posting content and the termination on-request of user accounts that are used or have been used since June 2006 illegally to upload copyrighted material. The group also requests a reply to the letter by Dec. 15. YouTube could not be immediately reached for comment. Â
550508
Company plans to use IP-based gear in network upgrade starting mid-2005, as it seeks to revive its prospects.
112784
High-definition TV may still be far from the norm in many countries, but that isn&#39;t stopping engineers at Japan&#39;s public broadcaster from pushing ahead with development of Super Hi-Vision, a system they hope will eventually replace HDTV. Last week engineers at NHK&#39;s (Nippon Hoso Kyokai) Science and Technical Research Laboratories showed off their most recent work on the technology.
594001
(InfoWorld) - YouTube will start displaying a notice in Japanese on its Web site warning users against uploading copyright content, its two founders told representatives of a broad group of Japanese copyright holders on Tuesday in their firstÂ face-to-face meeting. The Japanese language message was the only concession YouTube offered in the meeting, according to those present. No time frame was given for when the message will appear. The meeting, which ran for about two hours, was held in response to aÂ complaint made in DecemberÂ last year by a group of 23 Japanese TV broadcasters and associations representing copyright holders. The group had also asked YouTube to register the names and addresses of users making uploads and terminate the accounts of those who illegally upload copyrighted content. "The meeting went quite well and it was a very friendly manner," said Satoshi Watanabe, manager of the transmission rights department at the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers. JASRAC sent the original complaint on behalf of the other companies and associations and Tuesday's meeting was held at its Tokyo headquarters. "We are very satisfied with the direct negotiation realized and this should be a first step to carrying on... but their reply itself is not satisfactory today so we'd like to solve the issues," he said. YouTube CEO Chad Hurley, Chief Technology Officer Steven Chen and GoogleÂ Vice President of Contents Partnership, David Eun, attended the meeting but didn't offer any comments afterwards and sped away from JASRAQ in waiting taxis. Later, YouTube issued a brief statement that confirmed its commitment to respect copyright and thanked the organizations for the meeting. At the meeting the YouTube founders outlined their plans to develop a system that will be able to automatically scan uploaded video files and identify some that infringe on copyright, but no time frame was given for the launch of the system, representatives of the Japanese group said at a news conference. They also confirmed plans to begin paying uploaders for popular content providing the uploader owns the copyright. If such a service was to begin it would require uploaders to register their real names and addresses with YouTube in order to receive payment and that step would likely mean such users are unlikely to infringe on copyrighted material. The Japanese copyright holders are spooked by YouTube's site because of the large number of Japanese clips and users. The complaint was prompted afterÂ YouTube deleted 30,000 filesÂ judged to infringe on copyright of Japanese organizations and new files quickly found their way onto the site. YouTube is easily the most popular English-language Web site in Japan and one of the most popular overall. According to some estimates a third of all its traffic comes from Japan. The meeting comes days after YouTube found itselfÂ in hot-water with Viacom International, which owns cable channels such as MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central. Viacom demanded over 100,000 clips be removed from YouTube because they contained its copyrighted content. Viacom had been talking to YouTube for several months trying to work out a revenue sharing scheme under which it could share profit from the clips but lost patience with YouTube when the talks made little progress. Copyright issues have been buzzing around YouTube ever since it became a household name and kick-started the online video sharing market. Google acquired YouTubeÂ in a $1.65 billion all-stock deal in November last year. With such a high value attached to the site, some suggested it became a bigger target for content providers unhappy at their material being uploaded to YouTube. Google appears to have shared the concern and put aside 12.5 percent of the acquisition amount in an escrow account for one year to "secure certain indemnification obligations." Since the acquisition YouTube and Google have been negotiating with copyright holders. Â
53669
A new study quantifies acceptance in Japan of technology launched in 2006 that enables cell phones and other mobile devices to receive and record television shows.
743088
Japan's Honda wins a copyright case in Beijing, more evidence that China is doing more to protect intellectual property rights.
48441
InfoWorld - The CEO of Japan&#39;s leading social networking site, Mixi Inc., said Wednesday he hopes the country&#39;s law will be changed to allow users more freedom in sharing and viewing copyrighted content on the Internet.
515019
Premier Wen Jiabao has reiterated the country's determination to improve the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and urged for more time to deal with copyright piracy.
100625
If a new online radio webcasting royalty rate, proposed last week by the Copyright Royalty Board of the US Library of Congress, is ratified and put into effect, online webcasting leader AOL Radio may receive a bill for copyright holders' royalties retroactive to 2006 amounting to $23.7 million, payable to a collective representing the US recording industry. And that's not the half of it.
645867
A Japanese entertainment group has asked the popular video-sharing site YouTube Inc. to implement a system to prevent users from uploading videos that would infringe copyrights, a group spokesman said Tuesday.
482720
Text of report by Nepalnews.com website on 13 September  The Government of Japan has decided to extend a grant assistance of 588,436,000 rupees [8m US dollars] to the Government of Nepal for the project of improvement of shortwave and medium-wave radio broadcasting stations.
620596
Negotiation is nearing its final stage for an international treaty that would give broadcasters control over who records or transmits their signal. Broadcasters back the treaty, but digital rights advocates worry it could set an ominous precedent. By Wendy Grossman.
676820
A group of 23 Japanese entertainment industry associations and broadcasters has yet to receive a response from YouTubeÂ toÂ complaints raised earlier this monthÂ regarding copyright infringement on the popular online video site.