[Copyright] Tokyo District Court, Case No. 2023 (Wa) 70626

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む

Article information

Article type: Case note

Display and classification checked: 2026-09-30

Categories: Copyright

Topics: Copyrightability / Limitation periods

Published on this website: 2026-09-29

[Copyright] Tokyo District Court, Case No. 2023 (Wa) 70626

(Presiding Judge Takahashi)

1. The text of articles prepared by Kyodo News (the plaintiff) and distributed to newspaper companies does not fall within "miscellaneous news and reporting of current events that are merely communications of facts" (Article 10(2) of the Copyright Act), and qualifies as copyrighted works.

The plaintiff's distributed articles show an inverted-pyramid structure and choices in expression (selection, summarization, etc.), reflecting the individuality of their creators.

2. Negligence of the company (Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company) that uploaded the articles to its intranet without authorization

⇒ Established.

3. Extinctive prescription: not completed

The plaintiff first actually recognized the infringement at issue when it inspected the records of separate litigation.

https://lnkd.in/gBR5PKsB

https://lnkd.in/giKFkeS8

hanrei-pdf-95637.pdf — courts.go.jp

Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7509883347226025984/

Related articles and decisions

Shared topic: Copyrightability — [Copyright] Osaka District Court, Case No. 2025 (Wa) 3632

Shared topic: Copyrightability — A Recent Court Decision on the Copyrightability of Applied Art

Updates and corrections

This log starts on 30 September 2026. Display and classification checks are distinct from a review of the legal analysis.

2026-09-30 — Presentation update: added the article type, this change log and a link to consultation options. The existing article text was preserved.

Intellectual property enquiries

Contact Hideki Takaishi about legal advice or speaking engagements

Find the right consultation option