The Influence of Recent Court Cases Relating to Copyright Changes in Cloud Computing Services in Japan - Challenges of Information Management Beyond the Cloud - page 71

In Japan, meanwhile, the legality of digital locker services such as Rokuraku- II
[4], the Rokuga Net [5], MYUTA [6], TV Break (formerly, “Pandora TV”) [7] and
Maneki TV [8], centers mainly on whether the actions of a service provider have
infringed the copyright law, because there is no general fair use exception in Japanese
copyright law [9]. In 2011, the Japanese Supreme Court reversed the decision of a
lower court which found no infringement based on the right of making broadcasts
transmittable or the right of public transmission, in both cases of Rokuraku- II [10]
and Maneki TV [11].
Meanwhile, Japanese Copyright Law was amended in 2012 to provide punitive
sanctions for downloading copyrighted works that have been uploaded illegally, even
when this is done for private use [12].
This paper examines the influence of recent court cases relating to the cloud
computing services on the copyright scope changes in Japan.

2 The Cloud Computing Services in Japan

If the example of digital social media services such as Facebook , MySpace and
Twitter is anything to go by, Japan is somewhat slow to adapt to imported technology.
In great contrast to practices overseas, Japanese companies are still cold to the idea of
using such social media as part of their day to day operations [13]. The Japan
Business Federation (Keidanren), the nation's largest business lobby, held a meeting
in March 2012 for the purpose of discussing policy issues related to cloud computing.
The report of that meeting stated that “cloud computing enables resource-shorted
entrepreneurs, small businesses and developing countries to access information and to
build communication technology (ICT) infrastructure at low cost and as needed. As a
result, the benefits of cloud computing are not limited to just the ICT sector, the
'cloud' is an important platform for the growth of all industries” [1].
In July 2012, the Japanese government announced a new strategy for “Japanese
Renewal”. The statement mentioned that expectations are high in Japan regarding the
benefits to come from cloud computing because sharing of information is critical for
Japan [14]. Moreover, cloud computing services are already changing the style of
business and public services in Japan, and huge development is expected particularly
in the service industry. In order to further develop cloud computing services in Japan,
the Intellectual Property Strategic Program (IPSP) report states that legal risks must
be addressed and environmental improvement around cloud computing services must
be promoted [15]. As pointed out in the report, new information terminals are
becoming more widely used along with the development of cloud computing services.
The delay and loss in viewing videos across national borders and via mobile
communication are caused by the presence of legal risks: the threat of legal action
often results in hindrance in the dissemination of digital matter, be it videos, audio or
text.
The investment effects of the Cartoon Network, et al. v. Cablevision decision in
the U.S. and court rulings in France and Germany on venture capital (VC) investment
in U.S. cloud computing firms relative to the EU were analyzed by Borek et al. [16].