Add Japan to the list of countries moving toward expanding fair use. The Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters, led by the Prime Minister, has announced plans to introduce a fair use provision based on the U.S. model early next year.
Japan Planning Fair Use Provision
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For a very long time, talented (and not-so talented) Japanese fans have created mangas (aka comic books) which feature licensed characters without explicit permission. The more successful and popular ones have gone on to sell these mangas, which are often called ‘doujinshis.’ I wonder just how much this is going to ultimately affect them.