Stemming from these “exercise rights,” Article 113 of the Japanese copyright law states
that “an act of using on a computer, in the conduct of business, copies made by an act infringing
copyright in a program work . . . shall be considered to constitute an infringement on that
copyright, so far as a person using such copies is aware of such infringement at the time when he
has acquired an authority to use these copies”.
If an entity improperly uses a copyrighted work,
Japan’s copyright law sets forth a “Penal Provision” in Article 119, defining the criminal
punishment for the unauthorized use. This infringing use carries with it a potential penalty of
imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine not exceeding five million Yen, or
both.