Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > Japanese Government Policies in Education, Science, Sports and Culture 2000 > Part 1 Chapter 3 Section 2 4

In order to promote creative artistic activities, it is necessary to improve the artistic environment, in addition to financial support and fostering of new talents.

Without legal protection from unauthorized copying and usage of artistic works, creators of these works cannot be guaranteed of economic benefits, which may diminish their enthusiasm for more creative artistic activities. Consequently, legal protection for those engaged in creative artistic activities is indispensable.

The most notable development in recent years is the progress of digitization and the expansion of networks which has accompanied the development of information technologies. As explained in Chapter 1 , the government has taken successive measures to revise the Copyright Act to ensure proper protection in accordance with this new environment.

Currently, in response to the diversification of the manner of use of motion pictures (e.g. videotapes or satellite broadcasting), the government is carrying out studies on (1) the proper protection of performances of pictures and images, (2) the proper protection of pictures and images, (3) measures to facilitate the usage of pictures and images.

At the same time, considering the importance of providing a good environment for the smooth usage of copyrighted materials in the promotion of creative artistic activities, the Agency for Cultural Affairs is preparing legislation to create a legal framework for copyright management businesses, which manage copyrights upon request from copyright holders. In addition, the Agency is conducting research on the construction of the Japan Copyright Information Service (tentative name), in order to enable users to easily obtain copyright management-related information.

J-CIS (Japan Copyright Information Service) What is J-CIS? J-CIS (Japan Copyright Information Service: tentative name) is a system which provides integrated information requested by a user by comprehensively searching individual databases of copyright information (for example, title, name of the author, name of the copyright holder, contact address for the copyright management, etc.) managed by copyright holders' associations in various fields. Towards the Realization of J-CIS A system which provides integrated information on copyrights is needed because copyright settlement (the process of obtaining approval of the copyright holder), which requires finding out the names of the works and their copyright holders, still takes an enormous amount of time and energy, despite the recent advances in digitization and network technology which have enabled everyone to utilize works in a variety of ways. J-CIS Mechanism J-CIS enables users to obtain necessary copyright information through the following steps: (a) The user accesses J-CIS via the Internet and enters the title, name of the author, etc. (b) J-CIS searches the databases of copyright holders' associations. (c) J-CIS compiles a list of works that fit the provided information and presents it to the user. (d) The user selects those works for which he needs more information. (e) J-CIS provides the user with information concerning the contact addresses etc., for the copyright settlement for the designated works. Conceptual Chart of J-CIS