Sorry for posting again. Earlier someone said that
Japanese copyrights last only one year or so. Not true
Japan complies with the Berne convention. The Berne convention specifies the minimum duration of a copyright. Here are the relevant sections:
"Article 7
(1) The term of protection granted by this Convention shall be the life of the author and fifty years after his death.
(2) However, in the case of cinematographic works, the countries of the Union may provide that the term of protection shall expire fifty years after the work has been made available to the public with the consent of the author, or, failing such an event within fifty years from the making of such a work, fifty years after the making.
(3) In the case of anonymous or pseudonymous works, the term of protection granted by this Convention shall expire fifty years after the work has been lawfully made available to the public. "
"(6) The countries of the Union may grant a term of protection in excess of those provided by the preceding paragraphs. "
In the case of anonymous works, US law grants a 75 year duration.
US copyright law is contained in US Code: Title 17. You can read it at http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/index.text.html .
Really, it is pretty clear and easy to understand.
The point of the Berne Convention is to achieve some degree
of international standardization on intellectual property rights. Please be careful about statements on copyrights.
Companies may not enforce their rights diligently in some countries, but they still have those rights. |
