The Nikkei is reporting today that the government will propose a law to “enhance copyright holder protection.” You can’t read the story without buying a trial subscription (aka, that’s bad enough). But worse is the substance of what the Nikkei reports. The story reports what has been reported often before: That the legislation will increase copyright terms for movies and games from 50 to 70 years (again invoking the bogus harmonization argument). But the most amazing proposed change is this:
That’s a quote from the story, and as the story has a bunch of factual mistakes in it, I can’t be sure it is accurate. But if true, it means that in Japan, you’re guilty until proven innocent.
I’ll be reviewing the draft law as soon as I can, and reporting more. But the bottom line is the same: IP extremism continues unabated. There’s so much to praise in this amazing country. It is sad to see them following the extremists.