HELP: New Anti-Piracy Law in Japan (2012)
 

Four days ago, the new (not really) strict anti-piracy law has been implemented here in Japan. Perhaps, it has become one of my biggest disappointments this year. Based on the sources I've read, the law aims to attack not just the uploaders but those who download songs, movies and such illegaly. However, i'm not really sure if it is the right place to ask this question but it kinda makes me feel so confuse about the new law's scope.

Some says it only covers media published in CD/DVD/Blue-ray formats, as well as TV programs here. I read somewhere that even watching a copyrighted video in sites such as youtube can get you incarcerated.

I wonder how true this thing could be. Hope anyone here can help and explain me further information about it.

One more thing, i am an avid viewer of the American TV show, The Voice. The only way I can possibly watch this is to download the whole episode from sites. I also wonder if the new law restricts me from watching/downloading it. It makes me feel down and sad these past few days. I bet nothing can ever stop this law anymore.

I'm asking everyones opinion about it. Thank yOu

The thing that makes this law different from laws in other countries is that intention is important. If you KNOW your actions are illegal and they can prove it(this topic would be proof enough), then even watching something on youtube is illegal(watching something on youtube IS downloading, the files are just automatically deleted from your computer after you finished watching)

I can't tell you in how far American shows are affected.

Thank you so much for your reply.

It really make sense now how much this law could affect the piracy to the Japanese media. Like everyone in my work talks about it the whole day and I was like, silent, thinking of other possible ways to feed my thirst. I know i sounded kinda guilty (in which I really am), but I'm actually more than willing to spend money to legally download songs and movies via iTunes and the like. But recently I got scared and conscious with what I view and access in my PC.

How Illegal it is to download TV shows anyway?

^ it doesnt effect american products. It's just a japanese law.

And it only effects you if the company wants to come after you.

there was a great video that I posted not too long ago about this...
if I can find it again, Ill posted it later, but got to go to work right now!

oh please! That'll be a help for me and others who are confused too. LOL

I think the meaning of this law is not to download all that you can buy. It's CD, DVD, tv-shows from paid channels, etc.
if tv show was broadcasted on some channels in you country or has a physical release on dvd, again in your country - it's illegal to download it

that is weird. if owner (for example Ayu and avex) think that it's ok to have some videos on youtube on official ayu channel, who will bring charges against you, if you watch this video?

kind of offtop: youtube was blocked in some towns in my country because of this stupid movie about Muhammad, and maybe be will be blocked for all country in next month >_<

The law only states that the company can cone after you if THEY want too. So watched videos that they upload to their official channel will do nothing because they want you to watch them...
Where I agree with copyright laws, this one is just soooo.... Weird...
It basically gives the companies all the power, but thats if they even want to do anything about... It seems like the governments decided they just didn't want to deal with it anymore and give the responsability to the companies.

Dang, that's awful
I read somewhere that Japanese parliament wanted to pass such a bill WITHOUT any of the Japanese citizens' opinion/voice, or that the majority aren't aware of such a bill!
You should voice your opinion to the government, start a Facebook group, get ANONYMOUS on the case, etc...
頑張って！

Anonymous IS on the case already, they did some kind of thing, but it wasn't really effective or much publicized.

Its everywhere on tv lately. Thank God, i'm a third-world citizen. I don't mean anything but knowing Japanese people, I admit that most are being too passive about the laws or anything that the Goverment ever wanted to implement. Some might oppose, but its just that. They don't go any further most of the times.

This anti-piracy legislation is already hitting us here in the worldwide J-pop community...could mean reduced uploads all because of concerns of the law?

Has it affected us at all? idk I haven't been downloading or waiting for anything, so I really can't tell.


I suppose the youtube thing is an extension of your intent. You aren't supposed to watch stolen videos.

If Ayu puts one of her own videos to her channel...that isn't stolen. It's her property. If someone else uploads one of her videos to their channel, they've stolen it. This law also targets the downloaders though. So if you watch that video on that channel, and you know that they don't have the rights to it, you're now in violation.


But how much will they actually come after you. I guess we have yet to see.

Two years in jail, or a 2,000,000 yen just for downloading something illegal.

That's how DRACONIAN this new law is. It makes it harder for us (netizens in Japan) to breathe. LOL. I read somewhere that the guys who monitor this new law base their judgement through the data that they'll get from several internet providers here. Perhaps, they may look at how big the bytes have been downloaded or uploaded through the net on a person's IP address. Even a 100mb-sized could make them think something's fishy going on. What more with 700-800mb file size that I usually download whenever I watch those series from outside the country.

That alone can make them release a warrant, or investigate. I don't want to experience that much of a hassle just by watching something. It really irks me! ughhh.

It's not 'DRACONIAN'.
The company's are trying to protect their products from people STEALING them.

It really burns me up when people feel they are entitled to FREE entertainment.

-.-

anyways....
Here is the video I was talking about.

Thank you so much for the video.

If this kind of law has been implemented so long ago, Japanese artist or even artists as a whole, will not be so famous in places you'd never imagine their names could reach. Its actually not that I feel like i'm entitled to FREE entertainment, but there are certainly times when I feel like it helped me, and perhaps other people, in some ways like deciding whether or not to spend money on online media. It has always been like that, but it suddenly felt different. As if I lost a part of my daily routine. LOL

I find it DRACONIAN because of its strictness. And I have nothing against it either. :)

But it's not very strict...
it doesnt even seem like people care about it because it doesnt really effect people who just stream, which is what a ton of people do..

I download all my TV shows because I dont have cable...
You dont have to worry about the american TV shows because the law doesnt effect them. Plus downloading and then deleting seems perfectly fine as well, because its all about intent.

I think the video explains everything very well from someone that is living there and understands the language better than I do.

I don't think you can call illegal downloads stealing. Because the company still owns their products when someone downloads them. Of course I'm not entitled to free entertainment, but if I would buy every song I'm listening to or every movie I'm watching I wouldn't be able to buy food anymore. I'm spending A LOT of money for music, but there is a limit to everything.
And like hayasaki said, a lot of Japanese artists wouldn't be famous in Europe or the USA or elsewhere without illegal downloads. I still remember when Dir en grey had their first concert outside of Asia in Germany. None of the people I know had ever buyed one of their CDs until this day, but it gave Dir en grey the chance to tour and to perform again in Germany and finally in other European countrys and in the USA. And of course they played a few times at music festivals like Wacken (worlds biggest metal festival).
Or look at MUCC, shortly after Dir en grey were for the first time in Germany they also played here and now are very popular among J-Rock/Visual Kei fans in Germany.
Furthermore I often go to concerts from artists I never buyed a single CD from, because I love their music. Only problem I don't have enough money to support every artist I like. But besides that, by buying CDs you basically just support the companys, not the artists (if they are not very unknown and need therefore sales).

The law is draconian because it's not progressive. It doesn't do anything to address the modern issues of the entertainment industry, it just blankets, condemns and criminalizes.

It's exactly the kind of law and non-compromise that only benefits one side.

^^ I dont care how you justified illegal downloads... its still illegal and you are still stealing.

You have to make a choice in life... eat, or just dont buy that album.

And buy saying 'buying CD's supports the company and not the artist" is one of the weakest points ever.

You really think ayumi would be where she is today if she only sold 1000's of her albums because everyone was downloading it, instead of millions? No. The company invested into her and kept her around because people bought her albums.

You hurt the artist more than you think buy not buying their music. You need to give the company a reason to keep Ayumi on the payroll. By stealing her music and never buying it it makes her look like she is not popular and the company does not want to waste any money on her so she will never be able to do anything.
(using ayumi is an example and this can go with any artist.)

@emi
Sadly the only issue is that people want FREE things.
I dont think its unreasonable to ask for 1.29 or whatever it cost you for a download.
Or if you want to spend 40/50 bucks on that foreign album... foreign companies dont cater to anyone outside their country. And stealing their music because you cant afford to eat and buy everything that you want., well that's called being a GROWN UP. You have to make sacrifices and pick and choose what you can and can not have.
You can't have everything in life.

...Yeah. We're always going to disagree on that point so. Meh.

^ sadly yes.

But at least we can be civial about it! ^_^

No, I'm not stealing. To steal means to take something from someone away so that he/she doesn't own it anymore. When I download music illegal I don't take any song away from the company. They still own the music.


I don't think it hurts the artists that much. 'Cos people don't just download music illegal from one artist. People download illegal stuff from EVERY artist. So there will always be artists who are popular at the moment and will have more sales than others but none of them will have a disadvantage compared to another artist. Because like I said, they are all affected by illegal downloads and the sales of an artist are always relative to the sales of other artists.


No, people don't want only FREE things. But 1,29 is unreasonable for just one song. I don't know how much money you have to spend just for fun things, but a lot of people can't afford this, myself included.
I'm working a lot, way more than my friends, but I always have less money to spend. My friends are just lucky to have wealthier parents than I. I guess that's life and normally I don't complain about that. But music takes a big part in most peoples lifes and I think we all have a right to have a social life. If I wouldn't download music illegal I wouldn't be able to participate in a lot of talks of my friends. Just because I had to decide to buy the album or to buy food or pay my rent. This has nothing to do with being a grown up or not.
More over listening to music is also very important for people seen from an individual and very personal perspective. Music is something that can make us happy, sad, relaxed, cheer us up and more. I guess that's the reason why most artists make music. And if you appreciate the music of an artist and you are buying it here and there within the limits of your financial resources there is nothing wrong with downloading illegal.
And like I said in my previous post, artists also have advantages from people not buying their music but still listening to their music. Most of Ayu's money comes from her tours, not from CD sales. Being able to sell out your tour is way more worth than selling a few more CDs. People quick lose interest in an artist if they don't listening to new material.

Actually yes they do. I don't mean sound rude but your being a bit of a hypocrite here when you yourself download TV shows which are also copyright. Why should you be getting those shows for free while other millions of people pay to see them? It's exactly the same thing as downloading a CD for free and not paying for it.

This is still illegal in the U.S. - I have received notice from my cable provider because Disney sent them my IP address after I downloaded an episode of an ABC original TV series that had just aired that week (not yet available on DVD and even available to watch on Hulu for free).

Chibi-Chan, again, I don't care how you think you justify it, it's still stealing.

If you even bothered to watch the video that I posted you will see that no it doesn't. I can assume if a TV show is broadcasted in japan by the japanese company they might make a claim, but otherwise, no. But something that was never broadcasted in Japan but someone downloads it in japan, then the JAPANESE law does not effect the American (what ever other country) product.
And television is different when it is available for free on the net. I dont know about your country, but basic cable is free, and most of the stations, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX are on basic cable. So no, millions of people watch free television everyday.

Or at least it use to be free, they have recently switched to digital and I don't know about that since I havent had cable since 2008

Zeke, dont know what to tell you.
I have never gotten anything. I do all my downloading from official sites?
Maybe the lesson is not to pirate?

I thought that this is a discussion. But if you just don't care about my opinion I don't get why you answered to my first post instead of just ignoring it. Telling someone that you are not interested in his/her opinion but to state your own argument is just rude.

^ your right. I should of phrased my response better.

THe reason why I said I dont care is because clearly, you dont think you are doing anything wrong.

I have already stated the facts on the subject and you just repeated yourself.
I dont feel like repeating myself over and over.

So i was just stating that I am done with.

Except that you probably should care because her justification was actually not too shabby.

And you didn't even address her claim in your earlier facts...so I don't know why you think you're repeating yourself...or why you think she's repeating herself.


You never dismissed her claim with better evidence...all you said was that you didn't care. That's...not very good discussion imo. It's actually the kind of things people say when they can't back up their point anymore.

And I'm sure you think you can, so...tbh I'm a little disappointed in this response...

but you know, whatever.

^ lol. For being so blah about it you sure seemed invested.
If I wanted to I could, but I'm just tired of this discussion.

If you or chibi Chan were artists and were selling you paintings for 200.00 a piece and that's how you lived, how would you fill if someone bought that piece of artwork and decided to make prints and sale it for only 10.00.

It's the same principal. If chibi Chan wants me to discuss her points I will. But she wouldnt change her mind and I won't change mine .. I see it as stealing and thats something i jsut don't do.

But you DO do it.

I was blah about personally debating with you...

Doesn't mean I stopped following the discussion.

You don't have to change your mind. If you don't want to discuss, that's fine, whatever.

Thanks emi! Nice to see that someone actually read my posts. (^-^)

I feel this way too on the whole downloading thing. If i don't know if i like it or not I simply say "Forget it". I'm not spending the money only to discover I'm not fond of it. Then have to sell it to someone else for like half the cost of which I paid for it. Plus, none of the Music Stores even here have listening stations anymore, so there's no way to pick it up and give it a listen in the stores for what we do get in music. I admit I DL, but if I do like it then I'll buy it. Another thing however to bother me is the possibility of them limiting what we can and can't import in terms of entertainment into my country. I really don't want them suddenly saying I can't buy my Asian music CDs and concert DVDs/Blurays online.

Completely agree, if I can't test something first I won't buy it full stop.
If I hadn't been able to download a handful of songs from (miss)understood and GUILTY about 5 years ago, I wouldnt've heard of Ayu, and I wouldn'tve gone on to buy about 15 albums (remix+studio), 6 live DVDs, tour merch and posters from her. That's a heck of a lot of money I spent to say I illegally downloaded and "stole" something. You're welcome Avex!

^My feelings exactly!! I wouldnt have gotten into Namie Amuro & L'Arc~en~Ciel WAY WAY BACK in 1997 without the early internet, and now that things have advanced SOOOO MUCH since then there's even more for me to try out, which is what got me into Ayu, Kuu, BoA, Hikki and A TON of other singers/musicians. I always buy it as long as I like it. And I delete what I DL'd to begin with whether I like it or not after I've listened to it a couple times, and then replace it with my CD's once they arrive at my doorstep.