Japan's Supreme Court redraws line where tort can step in when copyright stops
By Toko Sekiguchi ( October 21, 2026, 22:59 GMT | Comment) -- Japan’s Supreme Court has supplied its first example in 15 years of when copying unprotected material becomes tortious, while leaving the limits for rival businesses in future cases still unclear.Japan’s Supreme Court has drawn a new line around online free-riding, ruling that an online service crossed it by using a publisher’s detailed transcriptions of popular recordings — written music setting out each instrument’s part — to build a free, advertising-funded rival service....
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