Problems with DVD

[Aaron Gerow]

Thanks to Michiko and others for tales of their own problems purchasing 
Japanese visual culture items. I'd still like to hear about any problems 
with DVD, but it's important to know these corporate restraints on our 
research.

Michael Kerpan wrote:

>This attempt to restrict re-sellers from selling to others is possibly 
>illegal in its own right.  The "first sale doctrine" which exists in the 
>US and in most other countries provides that once the an authorized copy 
>of a  copyrighted has been legally sold, attempts to restrict re-sale by 
>the buyer are not permissible.  If a company is a wholesale distributor 
>(in essence an agent of the initial seller), it's freedom of action can 
>probably be curtailed legitimately, but once an item makes it into the 
>retail market, restraints are unenforceable. Unless Japan has never 
>recognized the "first sale doctrine", the described behavior is very 
>likely illegitimate.  Whether it is worth initiating  (or threatening) 
>legal proceedings is, perhaps, another question.

As I have mentioned several times before on this list with regard to a 
court case brought by Enix over the resale of video games, is that 
Japanese Copyright Law gives the copyright owner of a film the right of 
distribution (hanpuken), and thus control over how it is distributed.  
Copyright owners of records and books do not have this right (and thus 
used book and record stores are legally no problem). If one were to take 
this literally, it means that such practices as the sale of used videos 
(which one sees all the time), or possibly even the importation into 
Japan (parallel importing) of videos sold abroad is illegal without the 
consent of the copyright owner in Japan.

To get back to the DVD issue, it seems possible that some DVD 
manufacturers are using their right of distribution to determine who can 
and cannot buy their DVDs. They thus might have the legal right to do it, 
but again that doesn't make it morally right.

Aaron Gerow
Associate Professor
International Student Center
Yokohama National University
79-1 Tokiwadai
Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501
JAPAN
E-mail: gerow at ynu.ac.jp
Phone: 81-45-339-3170
Fax: 81-45-339-3171