(3)Changes in the Copyright System and the Administration of Copyright

Copyright affairs, which were handled by the Department of Education during the first years of the Meiji era, were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Department of Home Affairs in1875 and did not return to the Ministry of Education until1947.

The Publication Order (Shuppan Jorei), which prescribed regulations on publications, contained some provisions for copyrights. This Order was issued by the Administration Council (Gyoseikan), the then executive branch of the Grand Council (Dajokan), in June, 1869, even prior to the establishment of the Department of Education. However, it was only in December,1887, that the Copyright Order (Hanken Jorei) was promulgated as separate legislation for copyrights; this Order was replaced by the 1893 Copyright Law (Hankenh5) in April, 1893. Then 111 March, 1899, the 1899 Copyright Law (Chosakukenho) was promulgated; this latter Law continued in force for seventy years with periodic minor modifications. With this 1899 Law, Japan acceded to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Convention de Berne pour la Protection des (Euvres Litteraires et Artistiques) in April, 1899. In January, 1956, Japan ratified the Universal Copyright Convention.

However, due to the rapid development of systems of communication and corresponding changes in the uses to which writing was put, the above-mentioned copyright provisions became outdated. Furthermore, there was considerable interest in expanding the type of protection offered by copyrights and the development of an international copyright system. Consequently, the government turned the question over to the Copyright System Council in 1962. Following an extensive investigation, the Council recommended a full revision of the seventy-year old copyright system. The 1970 Copyright Law(Chosakukenh7t) was promulgated in May, 1970, and put in force in January, 1971. Article 1 of this Law states that the purpose of this Law is to "secure the protection of the rights of authors... having regard to a just and fair exploitation of...cultural products, and thereby to contribute to the development of culture." The author's rights were divided into moral rights and copyrights, and the contents of both these rights were defined individually by this Law. Particularly, the long-pending copyright on broadcasting, diffusion by wire and performance of musical works by the use of phonograms has now been granted.

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