Copyright: Including tweets in a book held to be lawful quotation under Copyright Act Article 32(1) — #KuToo case (Takuto Hirasawa, Intellectual Property Law and Policy Journal, Vol. 66, 2022)
Updated: 2 days ago
Article information
Article type: Publication review
Category: Copyright
Topics: Quotation, Moral rights, Defamation
First published on this website: 2026-10-16
Display and classification checked: October 17, 2026
Case information: Tokyo District Court, 2020 (Wa) No. 19351
[Article / Copyright] Including tweets in a book held to be lawful quotation under Copyright Act Article 32(1) — #KuToo case (Takuto Hirasawa, Intellectual Property Law and Policy Journal, Vol. 66, 2022)
Tokyo District Court, Reiwa 2 (Wa) No. 19351
The tweet's ‘#KuToo’ was reproduced as ‘#kutoo.’ This was a typographical error: it neither defeated the quotation exception nor infringed the right of integrity.
(Excerpt, translated)
Even if expressions such as ‘a strange person’ and ‘suddenly glitches on Twitter’ offended the plaintiff's feelings of personal honor, their point was that the tweet criticized a movement concerning women's footwear by citing the extreme and unrelated example of men going to work in swimming trunks. Including the use of the phrase ‘conversely,’ the tweet's point departed from ordinary perceptions and was difficult to understand.
Even if some expressions offended the plaintiff's feelings of personal honor, they did not constitute insults exceeding socially acceptable limits. No tort was established.
The article examines numerous decisions on the framework for lawful quotation. It further analyzes the framework through the subordinate relationship of the quoted work to the quoting work, conformity with fair practice, and whether the extent is justified by the purpose of quotation.
Original AMEBLO article (2025-04-20)
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October 16, 2026: First published on this website.
October 17, 2026: Added article information, classification, topics, language navigation, consultation guidance, and update history; the original text and first-published date were preserved.
October 17, 2026: Romanized the article author’s name as Takuto Hirasawa based on the confirmed romanization used for the same author in another English article.
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