The Legal Protection of Software in Japan—An Original Model?

Abstract

Since the early postwar period, Japan began to stand out as a leading global economic player, which thought of technological advancement as the primary way to catch up with the other developed economies. In particular, the computer industry was one of the fields in which the country showed and still shows its enormous potential. Due to the rapid strengthening of the sector, Japan was amongst the first States to be concerned with the protection of software programs, an unavoidable complement to its efficient hardware industry. As for the internal market of software, the Japanese situation had several peculiarities—partly owing to its complex language—and its software industry reflected such elements. Legislative proposals which took into consideration those uniquely distinctive aspects were submitted to the Parliament. However, under the pressure of the European Countries and the United States, the Japanese legislator enacted a regulation similar to the ones adopted by its main commercial partners. Copyright was chosen as the primary way of protection, while the projects containing a patent-based or a sui generis system were (at least temporarily) put aside. This notwithstanding said outcome did not imply the complete abandonment of the idea of software patenting. On the contrary, as such practice became more and more widespread around the globe, Japan led the way and the authors try to investigate whether the Japanese judicial interpretations of the problem continue to show distinctive features.