Copyright rules: Japan Shortcut: COM:JAPAN | |
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_(Japan_centered).svg) | |
| Durations | |
|---|---|
| Standard | Life + 70 years |
| Anonymous | Publish + 70 years |
| Government | Laws, judgements, notices free |
| Other | |
| Freedom of panorama | For buildings |
| Terms run to year end | Yes |
| Common licence tags | {{PD-Japan}} {{PD-Japan-exempt}} {{PD-Japan-organization}} {{PD-Japan-film}} {{PD-Japan-oldphoto}} {{PD-Japan-audio}} {{FoP-Japan}} {{TOO-Japan}} |
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | JPN |
| Treaties | |
| Berne convention | 15 July 1899 |
| WTO member | 1 January 1995 |
| URAA restoration date* | 1 January 1996 |
| WIPO treaty | 6 March 2002 |
| *A work is usually protected in the US if it is a type of work copyrightable in the US, published after 31 December 1929 and protected in the country of origin on the URAA date. | |
This page provides an overview ofcopyright rules of Japan relevant to uploading works into Wikimedia Commons.Note that any work originating inJapan must be in the public domain, or available under a free license, in both Japan and the United States before it can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. If there is any doubt about the copyright status of a work from the Japan, refer to the relevant laws for clarification.
Japan has been a member of theBerne Convention since 15 July 1899, theWorld Trade Organization since 1 January 1995 and theWIPO Copyright Treaty since 6 March 2002.[1]As of 2018 theWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, listed theCopyright Act (Act No. 48 of May 6, 1970, as amended up to Act No. 35 of May 14, 2014) as the main IP law enacted by the legislature of Japan.[1]WIPO holds the text of this law in theirWIPO Lex database.[2]In December 2018, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced that the copyright term has been extended from 50 years to 70 years after the author's death, complying with the agreement of theTrans-Pacific Partnership.[3] This doesn't affect the work that has already been in public domain before 30 December 2018.
Under theCopyright Act (Act No. 48 of May 6, 1970, as amended up to Act No. 30 of May 25, 2018),
See also:Commons:Unprotected works
Under theCopyright Act (Act No. 48 of May 6, 1970, as amended up to Act No. 35 of May 14, 2014) the following are not eligible for copyright.[35/1970-2014 Art. 13]
| Date of author's death | Date of publication | Copyright tag |
|---|---|---|
| – December 31, 1945 | – December 31, 1929 | {{PD-Japan}} +{{PD-old-auto-expired}}{{PD-Japan}}{{PD-old-auto-expired|deathyear=death year}} |
| – December 31, 1945 | January 1, 1930 – December 31, 1957 January 1, 1971 – | {{PD-Japan}} +{{PD-old-auto-1996}}{{PD-Japan}}{{PD-old-auto-1996|country=Japan|deathyear=death year}} |
| – December 31, 1945 | January 1, 1958 – December 31, 1970 | {{PD-Japan}} +{{Not-PD-US-URAA}}The work was still in copyright in Japan on the date of URAA restoration (January 1, 1996) because copyright of the posthumous work was valid for 38 years from its publication before 1971.[1899 Art. 4][1969 Art. 52-1]{{PD-Japan}}{{Not-PD-US-URAA|country=Japan}} Note that{{Not-PD-US-URAA}} may not be used for files uploaded after 1 March 2012. |
| January 1, 1946 – December 31, 1967 | – December 31, 1929 | {{PD-Japan}} +{{PD-old-auto-expired}}{{PD-Japan}}{{PD-old-auto-expired|deathyear=death year}} |
| January 1, 1930 – | {{PD-Japan}} +{{Not-PD-US-URAA}}{{PD-Japan}}{{Not-PD-US-URAA|country=Japan}} Note that{{Not-PD-US-URAA}} may not be used for files uploaded after 1 March 2012. | |
| Others | The work is still protected under Japan law. | |
If the author of the work is unveiled during its copyright term, it is protected as an individual work. e.g. Osamu Tezuka (手塚 治, died in 1989) and his pen name "手塚 治虫" are well-known among people, so his works will be protected in Japan until 2059.
| Date of publication | Copyright tag |
|---|---|
| – December 31, 1929 | {{PD-Japan}} +{{PD-anon-expired}}{{PD-Japan}}{{PD-anon-expired}} |
| January 1, 1930 – December 31, 1945 | {{PD-Japan}} +{{PD-anon-auto-1996}}{{PD-Japan}}{{PD-anon-auto-1996|country=Japan|publication=year}} |
| January 1, 1946 – December 31, 1967 | {{PD-Japan}} +{{Not-PD-US-URAA}}{{PD-Japan}}{{Not-PD-US-URAA|country=Japan}} |
| Others | The work is still protected under Japan law. |
| Date of publication | Copyright tag |
|---|---|
| – December 31, 1929 | {{PD-Japan-organization}} +{{PD-US-expired}}{{PD-Japan-organization}}{{PD-US-expired}} |
| January 1, 1930 – December 31, 1945 | {{PD-Japan-organization}} +{{PD-1996}}{{PD-Japan-organization}}{{PD-1996|country=Japan}} |
| January 1, 1946 – December 31, 1967 | {{PD-Japan-organization}} +{{Not-PD-US-URAA}}{{PD-Japan-organization}}{{Not-PD-US-URAA|country=Japan}} |
| Others | The work is still protected under Japan law. |
| Date of creation | Date of publication | Copyright tag |
|---|---|---|
| – December 31, 1946 | Any date | {{PD-Japan-oldphoto}}{{PD-Japan-oldphoto}} |
| January 1, 1947 – December 31, 1956 | – December 31, 1956[5] | {{PD-Japan-oldphoto}}{{PD-Japan-oldphoto}} |
| January 1, 1957 – (within 10 years) | Judged under 1970 Copyright law. (as an individual work or pseudonymous work) | |
| Not published within 10 years from creation | {{PD-Japan-oldphoto}}{{PD-Japan-oldphoto}} | |
| January 1, 1957 – | Any date | Judged under 1970 Copyright law. (as an individual work or pseudonymous work) |
See also:Commons:Copyright tags
Non-copyright tags:
See also:Commons:Currency
OK. The designs of the Japanese banknotes are published as state-issued 'Notifications' which exempt them from copyright protection under Copyright Law of Japan.[8]{{PD-Japan-exempt}} applies to them.[9]
See also:Commons:De minimis
Copyright Act Article 30-2, amended in 2012, states:
See also:Commons:Freedom of panorama
Not OK {{NoFoP-Japan}} except in cases governed by Article 46.OK {{FoP-Japan}}The Copyright Act (Act No. 48 of May 6, 1970, as amended up to Act No. 35 of May 14, 2014), allows the reproduction of artistic works located permanently in open places accessible to the public, such as streets and parks, or at places easily seen by the public, such as the outer walls of buildings, only for non-commercial purposes. Therefore, such photographsare not free enough for Commons.
Architectural works located in such places, including buildings, gardens, bridges and towers (source), may be photographed and the photos may be reproduced for any purposes. §46(iv), which contains the "non-commercial" restriction, applies only to "artistic works".[1899-1931 Art. 46(iv)]Some buildings like theTower of the Sun can be regarded as artistic works perdiscussion.
Regarding buildings, a2003 ruling by the Osaka District Court states that in order for a building to be copyrighted, it "must have creativity in aesthetic expression in light of the definition of works stipulated in Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the same Act." This means ordinary-looking buildings are not eligible for copyright protection as "architectural works".
For more information, refer to:
Note: According to Japanese copyright law, Japan has a copyright lifetime of 70 years after the death of the author (ie. creator/designer) or following "the death of the last surviving co-author in the case of a joint work." Henceforth, the author's works shall become copyright free and enter the public domain.[1899-1931 Art. 51]
See also:Commons:Stamps
Stamps more than 70 years old or published before 1 January 1968 are in the public domain, per{{PD-Japan}}.
See also:Commons:Threshold of originality
Logos in the gallery below areOK to upload. Article 2 of Japanese copyright law defines that a work is eligible for copyright when it is a production in which thoughts or sentiments are expressed in a creative way and which falls within the literary, scientific, artistic or musical domain.[11]
Japanese courts have decided that to be copyrightable, a text logo needs to have artistic appearance that is worth artistic appreciation. Logos composed merely of geometric shapes and texts are also not copyrightable in general.
 | (DR) Tokyo High Court's ruling: letters are a means of communication, shared by all. Copyright protection of fonts is limited only to those that raise artistic appreciation as much as artistic works do.[12] |
 | (DR) Tokyo High Court's ruling: although the shape is stylized, the text is in a normal arrangement and keeps its function of being read as a sequence of letters.[13] |
 | Tokyo District Court's ruling: the Court is negative towards recognizing the symbol as a copyrightable work of fine arts, because it is considered merely relatively simple graphic elements.[14] |
See also:Commons:When to use the PD-signature tag
OK for a typical signature, Not OK for calligraphic signatures. The decision平成10(受)332 (Hanrei Jiho No. 1730: 123) set a relatively high artistic threshold for typefaces. The decision平成10(ワ)14675 substantiates that calligraphy works are copyrightable[16]. According to Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Copyright Law, awork is a production in which thoughts or sentiments are expressed in a creative way and which falls within the literary, scientific artistic or musical domain. A signature must haveaesthetic properties capable of artistic appreciation, not justbeauty in terms of practical functionality, to be copyrightable.
