## Protecting Intellectual Property Rights and Users' Awareness

Because digital content can readily be duplicated, and furthermore, almost nothing is lost in the copying process, issues such as copy protection have repeatedly come up for discussion. Increased Internet access and higher-performance computers, together with technologies allowing peer-to-peer (P to P) file-sharing and illegal copying of CDs, have brought copyright infringement issues to the forefront. One well-known case was the copyright infringement suit against Napster, operator of a peer-to-peer music file sharing system that attracted many users. In July 2000, a U.S. federal district court issued a preliminary injunction ordering Napster to cease operations. The company appealed the ruling, but in February 2001 a U.S. Federal Court of Appeals upheld the initial ruling in favor of the record companies and other plaintiffs that Napster's conduct had constituted a copyright infringement, and in March of the same year, a federal district court issued a provisional injunction ordering the company to cease providing its pertinent services. Both the plaintiffs and the defendant accepted this ruling.

While 40.3% of Internet users surveyed feel that “protection of copyright holders’ rights should take priority,” another 27.5% feel that “the convenience of users should take priority.” This finding highlights the importance of deepening users’ awareness of copyright issues, and of making rules that will allow content to be distributed in a manner that protects the interests of both copyright holders and users.

## Network Content Trends Outside of Japan

Broadband access has become more wide-spread in Japan in recent years. However, this started happening in Korea and the United States before it did in Japan, and those countries have also been ahead of Japan in starting to develop content businesses premised on broadband technology.

Korea leads the world in terms of broadband Internet access. As of February 2002, some 57.3% of Korean households connected to the Internet had broadband connections—a much higher rate than in any other country, even the other economically advanced nations. A commensurately wide variety of broadband Internet services are available in Korea. One popular service, which has been a major factor in promoting Internet use by that country's citizens, is one that combines communication and entertainment elements, allowing users to chat with friends while watching TV dramas via video-on-demand Web sites or to participate in network-based games that can simultaneously accommodate thousands of players.

In the leading Internet nation, the United States, broadband access is sharply rising; as of September 2001, 19.1% of households connected to the Internet were using broadband connections. Two paid music distribution services, Pressplay and MusicNet, commenced service in December 2001. Both of these services have mechanisms for copyright control and billing—two required elements for paid music distribution. Both companies are distributing music under the proper procedures, such as obtaining licenses from the record companies, and are billing users on a monthly basis.

## I mproving Copyright Protection and Enhancing User Convenience

To promote content distribution in a network society, it is necessary to provide adequately for both the protection of copyright holders and the convenience of users. To maximize the interests of both parties, maintaining balance between both, and promote the distribution of content, it is necessary to have appropriate mechanisms for managing rights between the holders and the content providers that are the users of copyrights, and to have secure, simple, and copyright-safe content distribution and payment collection mechanisms between content providers and general users.

Because the creation of image content involves multiple copyrighted items and multiple producers, issues related to rights are complicated. To distribute a broadcast program over the Internet, for example, various kinds of rights must be secured from multiple parties. It is necessary not only to secure rights from the program copyright holder, but also from the original author and the script writer, as well as the rights to use the melody and lyrics for the music used in the program, and adjoining rights from the performers and musicians. In response to the report of the Study Group on the Formation of Network Distribution Market of Digital Content, published in July 2001, the MPHPT investigated the concept of a rights