Opinion

Your words are yours

By Tony Laszlo

Somewhere in the vast expanses of the Internet there is a Web site where, until recently, Japanese-speaking people congregated freely to exchange their experiences, questions and comments about ... hotels. It was the sort of place where one person might write about the splendid decor to be found at a glamorous four-star hotel in Venice, while others would argue about which inn served the very best hot-spring eggs in all of Japan. Most of the participants posted semi-anonymously by using a nickname. The space was administered by a company that produces books, not surprisingly, on the subject of hotels and inns.

Imagine that you, as one of the people who had posted something in that space, woke up one day to discover that the company managing the Web site had reproduced your contributions in a paperback, without your permission.

Of course, you, like everyone else exchanging views there, fully understood that your writings could be viewed by anyone that dropped by the Web site. But while you might be comfortable ranting a bit about, say, "the lousy room service at Hotel X" before a relatively contained viewership, having that opinion introduced in a book is another matter entirely, you might think. And since people were paying money to read the book - and your post contained within - shouldn't you receive a portion of the profits?

Eleven of the people who unwittingly contributed to the paperback thought along these lines, and approached the publishers. After unsuccessful negotiations for an out-of-court settlement, they filed a lawsuit on the grounds that their copyright had been violated. In response, the publishers argued that the reproduction of the posts was appropriate, as the contributors had released the material on the Internet under assumed names, and thus relinquished their copyright.

Then, in the spring of last year, the Tokyo District Court found in favor of the plaintiffs, ordering the defendants to pay a total of ¥1.2 million in damages and cease publication of the book - a ruling later upheld by the High Court.

Unfortunately for the plaintiffs, the victory was bittersweet, for the amount they paid out in legal fees turned out to be greater than the amount they were awarded. Considering also the time commitment and stress that the plaintiffs endured during the ordeal, one can only conclude that the legal system did not deliver real justice this time around.

In the days when almost everything in writing was on paper - if not etched in stone - a person had to use pen and ink and a printing press to reproduce another's works. These days, it is possible to copy and publish such a document with only a few point-and-clicks of a mouse. True, Japan's Copyright Law provides protection for those whose rights have been violated. But the legal system must be revised so that one can win without losing. Despite the shortcomings of the system today, however, the violated must not fail to cry foul and seek relief. For each time people do not stand up for their rights when they should, those rights may become diminished or obscured for all.

Shukan ST: Sept. 19, 2003

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