Japanese artist's plagiarism claim over goldfish-filled phone booth rejected by Nara court
A court has rejected a plagiarism claim by an artist who argued a merchants' association in Nara Prefecture had copied one of his artworks featuring a telephone booth filled with water and dozens of goldfish. Nobuki Yamamoto, 63, a contemporary artist, filed a damages suit ...
The government on Wednesday decided not to submit to the Diet a bill that would make it illegal to download literary materials without the permission of copyright holders.
Japan to extend copyright period on works including novels and paintings to 70 years on Dec. 30
The copyright period on works such as novels and paintings in Japan is set to be extended to 70 years after the authors' deaths, from the current 50 years, effective Dec. 30 when a revised copyright law goes into force. The copyright law was revised ...
Japan calls for 'emergency measure' blocking access to websites that pirate manga and anime
A government report calls for taking an “emergency measure” to block access to websites that pirate anime and manga, including Mangamura, Anitube and Miomio.
Internet piracy taking major bite out of Japan's famed manga culture
Japan's renowned manga culture is facing a crisis. The spread of smartphones and tablet computers allows people to read e-comics anywhere at any time. According to the Research Institute for Publications, annual sales of digital comics last year grew 17.2 percent from the previous year ...
Parenting expert sues Disney, says it stole 'Inside Out' idea
A parenting and child development specialist has sued Walt Disney Co and its Pixar unit, accusing them of stealing from her the concept for their 2015 blockbuster movie, "Inside Out." In a complaint filed on Monday in Los Angeles federal court, Denise Daniels said the ...
Pirate Bay's content treasure trove in peril after EU ruling
The Pirate Bay, one of the last surviving file-sharing websites, is in peril after judges at the European Union's top court warned that giving users free access to a trove of Hollywood movies, TV shows and music risks breaking the law. "Making available and managing ...
Paul McCartney sues Sony/ATV to reclaim rights to Beatles music
Former Beatle Paul McCartney sued Sony Corp.'s music publishing arm on Wednesday in a federal court in New York, seeking to get back the copyrights to music of his former band, court records show. Starting in October 2008, McCartney sent notices to Sony/ATV Music Publishing ...
Patent and copyright laws can help you win redress when wronged
A reader writes: I have a problem regarding misleading information on a home page, confusing labels and the use of my intellectual property rights on some products.
China will crack down on illegal reproduction of online news, the country's media watchdog said, days after an influential Chinese news magazine complained publicly about what it described as unauthorized republishing of its stories. China's government has long vowed to rein in intellectual property infringement, ...
Trial of Kim Dotcom has implications for international online privacy
Prosecutors say Kim Dotcom and his colleagues sometimes reveled in their role as "modern-day pirates," discussed how to thwart the justice system, and joked that a judge would one day realize how "evil" they were. The much-delayed extradition hearing for Dotcom and three others who ...
Technology companies winning battle with 'patent trolls'
For two decades, companies that buy software patents in order to sue technology giants have been the scourge of Silicon Valley. Reviled as "patent trolls," they have attacked everything from Google's online ads to Apple's iPhone features, sometimes winning hundreds of millions of dollars. But ...
