In an attempt to define fair use in cyberspace, the LDP will form a panel on intellectual property rights that will propose tougher laws against online copying of animation and game software.
Protection and the creative use of intellectual property are two of the government's avowed goals for enhancing industrial competitiveness, and it is apparently starting to take notice of copying over the Internet that labels and studios claim have eaten into sales of music and video software.
The Subcommittee on Policies for Intellectual Property said that a team to be headed by Takeo Kawamura, a former senior vice education minister, will hold its first meeting on copyright protection by the end of this week.
The working team will discuss boosting the legal framework to prevent infringement of copyrights on the Internet, such as those on Japanese animation and game software. that enjoy strong international reputations.
The team plans to define the pirating of animation and software as theft of information punishable as a crime and is to compile a report within a year, according to Liberal Democratic Party officials.
Earlier this month, a government panel called for the establishment of a basic intellectual property law in 2003 and proposed measures including the introduction of criminal penalties for industrial espionage.