What Exclusive Rights ("Bundle of Rights") Does Copyright Grant in Japan?

Japanese Attorney at Law - Bengoshi L.L.

31 May 2025 • 9 min read

Copyright in Japan, much like in other jurisdictions, is not a single, indivisible right. Instead, it's a collection of specific, exclusive rights, often referred to as a "bundle of rights" (支分権の束 - shibunken no taba). These rights, primarily economic in nature, define what a copyright holder can control regarding the use of their work. Understanding this bundle is essential for anyone creating, distributing, or utilizing copyrighted material in Japan.

The Japanese Copyright Act (著作権法 - Chosakukenhō) details these exclusive rights primarily in Articles 21 through 28. This modern framework is more detailed than that of the old Japanese Copyright Act (Meiji 32 Law No. 39), which enumerated fewer specific rights, focusing mainly on reproduction and, for certain works, translation and public performance.

The Nature of "Exclusive Rights"

When the Copyright Act states that an author or copyright holder "possesses an exclusive right" (専有する権利 - sen'yū suru kenri) to perform a certain act, it means they have the sole authority to do that act or to authorize others to do it. Conversely, they can prohibit others from performing these acts without their permission. While the "bundle of rights" metaphor is common, some legal commentators suggest not overemphasizing it, as it can sometimes obscure the practical reality that these provisions primarily define categories of prohibited actions concerning a work. The focus is on the copyright holder's ability to control various forms of exploitation of their work.

Categorization of Economic Rights

The economic rights under Japanese copyright law can be broadly categorized based on the nature of the controlled act:

Rights to Control Tangible Reproduction: Primarily the right of reproduction.
Rights to Control Intangible Forms of Making Available to the Public: Such as public performance, presentation, and transmission.
Rights to Control the Provision or Presentation of the Original Work or its Copies to the Public: Such as exhibition, distribution, transfer of ownership, and lending.
Rights Concerning the Modification of the Work's Expressive Form and Use of Such Modifications: Specifically, the right of adaptation and the original author's rights in secondary works.

Let's delve into these categories and their specific rights.

A. The Right of Reproduction (複製権 - Fukuseiken) (Article 21)

This is one of the most fundamental rights, granting the copyright holder the exclusive right to reproduce their work in a tangible form. "Reproduction" is defined as the act of reproducing a work by printing, photography, photocopying, sound recording, visual recording, or any other means, in a tangible form (Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 15). This essentially means creating a physical copy or fixing the work in a new material medium.

The scope of reproduction is broad. It includes:

Creating exact copies (e.g., printing a book, duplicating a CD).
Recording a script for a performance or building an architectural structure based on design plans.
Transforming a work from one tangible medium to another (e.g., scanning a printed photograph to create a digital file, then printing it).

A point of discussion has been "temporary storage" (一時的蓄積 - ichiji-teki chikuseki) of works in electronic devices. Momentary and transient storage in a computer's RAM, which is essential for the ordinary use or viewing of a work (like streaming content), might not always be considered a "reproduction" that infringes copyright, particularly if it lacks the potential for repeated future use from that stored copy. The Tokyo District Court in the Star Digio case (May 16, 2000) suggested that for an act to be a reproduction, it must create a reproduction capable of repeated future use. However, more stable forms of temporary storage that allow for later access or transfer could fall under the right of reproduction. Subsequent legislative amendments have introduced specific limitations on copyright for certain types of temporary reproductions necessary for efficient data processing or network transmission (e.g., current Articles 30-4, 47-4, 47-5), acknowledging the realities of digital technology.

The right of reproduction applies regardless of whether the act is for public or private purposes, although acts of private reproduction for personal or family use are subject to specific limitations under Article 30 of the Act.

These rights generally govern how a work is presented or communicated to the public without necessarily creating new tangible copies for distribution. A common thread for many of these rights is that they apply to acts done "publicly" (公に - ōyake ni) or "for the public" (公衆向けに - kōshū muke ni). The term "public" (公衆 - kōshū) under the Act includes not only an unspecified large number of people but also specified large numbers of people, essentially meaning anyone beyond a small, private circle. The Nagoya District Court case Shakai Dansu Kyōshitsu (Social Dance School) (February 7, 2003) interpreted "public" in the context of music played at a dance school, finding that even if a single class had few students, the school's open enrollment made the performance public.

Right of Public Performance (上演権 - Jōenken) and Right of Musical Performance (演奏権 - Ensōken) (Article 22):
This grants the exclusive right to perform a work publicly. "Publicly" means for the purpose of showing or making it heard directly by the public. This includes live performances, as well as playing recordings of performances or musical works (but excludes acts falling under public transmission or cinematographic presentation, which are covered by separate rights). "Performance" encompasses acting, dancing, playing musical instruments, and singing (Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 16).
Right of Public Presentation (上映権 - Jōeiken) (Article 22-2):
This is the exclusive right to present a work publicly by projecting it on a screen or other surface (Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 17). Originally, this right was limited to cinematographic works, but a 1999 amendment extended it to all types of works. For example, projecting book pages or photographs using a projector now falls under this right. The playing of sound that accompanies the public presentation of a cinematographic work is also considered part of this right. It is distinct from the public display of a work received via public transmission, which is covered by the right of communication.
Right of Public Transmission (公衆送信権 - Kōshū Sōshinken), including Making Transmittable (送信可能化権 - Sōshin Kanōkaken) (Article 23):
This is a cornerstone right in the digital age, granting the exclusive right to make a public transmission of a work, which explicitly includes the act of "making a work transmittable."
- "Public transmission" means transmission by wireless or wire telecommunication intended for direct reception by the public (Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 7-2). This generally excludes transmissions occurring solely within the same premises, although there are specific exceptions, for example, concerning the transmission of computer programs within a business.
- It encompasses various forms:
  - Broadcasting (放送 - hōsō) (Article 2(1)(viii))
  - Cablecasting (有線放送 - yūsen hōsō) (Article 2(1)(ix-2))
  - Automatic public transmission (自動公衆送信 - jidō kōshū sōshin) (Article 2(1)(ix-4)), which includes internet streaming and on-demand services. Crucially, this also covers the act of making transmittable (送信可能化 - sōshin kanōka) (Article 2(1)(ix-5)), such as uploading a work to a publicly accessible web server, even before anyone actually accesses it. The Supreme Court decision in the Maneki TV case (January 18, 2011) dealt with the complexities of identifying the entity responsible for making works transmittable in the context of TV program retransmission services.
- The IP High Court's Retweet Case (April 25, 2018) considered whether acts like inline linking or retweeting infringing content constitute a new infringement of the right of public transmission, generally finding they do not under specific circumstances.
Right of Communication to the Public of Publicly Transmitted Works (伝達権 - Dentatsuken) (Article 23, Paragraph 2):
This specific right covers the act of communicating to the public, by means of a receiving apparatus, a work that has been publicly transmitted. A typical example is a shop playing a radio broadcast for its customers. This is treated separately from the initial public transmission and from rights like public presentation or performance. However, there are significant limitations on this right under Article 38, Paragraph 3 (e.g., for non-profit purposes without charge, or using ordinary home receiving equipment).
Right of Public Recitation (口述権 - Kōjutsuken) (Article 24):
This grants the exclusive right to recite a literary work publicly. This typically applies to lectures, speeches, and readings of literary texts. It excludes performances that would qualify as dramatic acting (which falls under the right of public performance). Similar to performance rights, recitation includes communication from recordings of recitations.

These rights govern the physical distribution and display of the work or its copies.

Right of Public Exhibition (展示権 - Tenjiken) (Article 25):
This right applies to the original of an artistic work or an unpublished photographic work. It grants the copyright holder the exclusive right to exhibit the original work publicly. This right does not extend to reproductions of artistic works or to published photographs. The rationale often cited is the unique value and nature of an original artwork compared to potentially limitless reproductions. For digital art or certain types of photographs where the distinction between "original" and "copy" is blurred, the application of this right can be more complex. If applied art is protected by copyright, the right of exhibition may not apply if a singular "original" cannot be meaningfully identified.
Right of Distribution (頒布権 - Hanpuken) (Article 26):
This right is unique to cinematographic works. It grants the exclusive right to distribute reproductions of a cinematographic work to the public (either by transfer of ownership or by lending). For cinematographic works also intended for public presentation (like theatrical films), it includes the right to distribute copies for the purpose of such presentation. A significant legal issue surrounding this right involves its potential exhaustion, particularly in the context of the sale of used video game software, which are considered cinematographic works.
Right of Transfer of Ownership (譲渡権 - Jōtoken) (Article 26-2):
For works other than cinematographic works, this right grants the copyright holder the exclusive right to offer their work to the public by transferring ownership of the original work or its reproductions. This right was introduced by a 1999 amendment.
A crucial aspect of the right of transfer is the doctrine of exhaustion (Article 26-2, Paragraph 2). Once the original or a particular copy of a work has been lawfully transferred to the public in Japan by the copyright holder or with their authorization, the transfer right is "exhausted" for that specific original or copy. This means that particular item can then be further resold or otherwise transferred by subsequent owners without needing further permission from the copyright holder. Notably, the Japanese Copyright Act (Article 26-2, Paragraph 2, Item 5) also recognizes a form of international exhaustion under certain conditions for works first lawfully put into circulation outside Japan. There are also provisions (Article 113-2) offering protection to bona fide acquirers of infringing copies under certain circumstances.
Right of Lending (貸与権 - Taiyoken) (Article 26-3):
Also for works other than cinematographic works, this right grants the exclusive right to offer reproductions of the work to the public by lending. It was introduced in 1984, largely in response to the rise of commercial record rental stores. Unlike the transfer right, the right of lending is generally not exhausted by the first lawful lending of a copy; subsequent lending of the same copy by a commercial entity still requires authorization or falls under specific statutory license schemes for certain types of works (e.g., rental CDs). However, Article 38, Paragraph 4, provides a significant limitation: this right does not apply to the non-profit, charge-free lending of published works (excluding cinematographic works) by specified institutions like libraries. There have been specific legislative histories concerning books and magazines, which are now generally subject to the lending right, though transitional provisions existed.

D. Rights of Modification and Secondary Use (Articles 27 & 28)

These rights deal with the transformation of works and the rights that flow from such transformations:

Right of Adaptation, Translation, etc. (翻案権等 - Hon'anken tō) (Article 27):
This grants the exclusive right to translate, arrange musically, transform, dramatize, cinematize, or otherwise adapt a work. This creates what is known as a "secondary work" or "derivative work."
Rights of the Original Author in the Exploitation of a Secondary Work (原著作者の権利 - Genchosakusha no Kenri) (Article 28):
The author of an original work possesses rights of the same types as those held by the author of a secondary work with respect to the exploitation of that secondary work. This complex but crucial right ensures that the original author continues to have a say and potential economic benefit when their work is adapted.

(These two rights related to adaptation and secondary works were explored in more detail in a previous article in this series, "Understanding Derivative Works and Adaptations Under Japanese Copyright Law: What are the Original Author's Rights?")

"Use" vs. "Exploitation"

It is sometimes noted that Japanese copyright law, by enumerating specific "exploitations" (利用 - riyō) that are controlled, implicitly allows other forms of "use" (使用 - shiyō) that do not fall under these categories. For example, merely reading a lawfully acquired book or privately viewing a lawfully acquired artwork does not implicate any of the exclusive economic rights. This is analogous to patent law, where only specifically defined acts of "working" an invention are controlled by the patentee.

Conclusion

The "bundle of rights" approach in Japanese copyright law provides a detailed framework outlining the various ways a copyright holder can control the exploitation of their work. From tangible reproduction and public performance to digital transmission and the creation of adaptations, each specific right (shibunken) defines a sphere of exclusivity. For creators, users, and businesses alike, a clear understanding of these individual rights is paramount for navigating the complexities of copyright compliance and leveraging the value of creative works in Japan.