ACHIEVING THE COPYRIGHT EQUILIBRIUM: HOW FAIR USE LAW CAN PROTECT JAPANESE PARODY AND DOJINSHI

Aug 22, 2026

Analyzes how U.S. fair use doctrine could offer practical protection for Japanese parody and dojinshi despite Japan’s narrower treatment of parody under copyright infringement rules. Compares the U.S. fair use factors—purpose and character, nature of the original work, amount and substantiality, and the market or value effect—to identify how Japan’s approach can be strengthened without undermining copyright objectives. Proposes incorporating “transformative use” into the first fair use prong, codifying its definition, and preventing judges from judging the artistic worth of the secondary work.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Japanese Parody Deemed as Copyright Infringement in Japan

Overview of the U.S. Fair Use Analysis

How Japan Should Adopt Fair Use to Maximize the Protection for “Parody”

Conclusion

ACHIEVING THE COPYRIGHT EQUILIBRIUM: HOW FAIR USE LAW CAN PROTECT JAPANESE PARODY AND DOJINSHI Yoshimi M. Pelc* I. INTRODUCTION .......................................... 398 II. JAPANESE PARODY DEEMED AS COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IN JAPAN ............................... 401 A. The Importance of Parody for the Japanese Culture .............................................. 401 B. Japanese Copyright Law and Infringing Works ..... 403 C. Dojinshi and Tolerated Uses ........................ 405 III. OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. FAIR USE ANALYSIS .......... 408 A. The Purpose and Character of the Secondary Use ... 409 B. The Nature of the Original Work ................... 412 C. The Amount and Substantiality of the Portion Used . 413 D. The Effect of the Secondary Work upon the Value of the Original Work .................................. 415 IV. HOW JAPAN SHOULD ADOPT FAIR USE TO MAXIMIZE THE PROTECTION FOR “PARODY”....................... 416 A. Japan Should Incorporate “Transformative Use” as a Sub-Factor into the First Prong of the Fair Use Factors .............................................. 417 B. Japan Should Codify the Definition of“Transformative Use” in the First Prong of the Fair Use Factors ......................................... 418 C. The Fair Use Provision Should Explicitly Prohibit Judges from Evaluating the Artistic Worth of the Secondary Work .................................... 420 V. CONCLUSION ............................................ 421 * J.D., May 2017, Southwestern Law School. The author would like to thank Professor Silvia F. Faerman, Professor Tigran Palyan, and Professor Robert C. Lind for their guidance and advice in writing this article. Any errors or omissions in the analysis are solely the author’s own. 398 SOUTHWESTERN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW [Vol. 23 I. INTRODUCTION The film industry as a whole is without question an important contributor to the United States economy, given that its revenue comprises three percent of the country’s GDP for goods and services.1 With Hollywood films also serving as one of America’s major exports, the U.S. film industry has a prominent presence throughout the world. Similarly, Japan considers the animation and manga (the Japanese term for comic books) industry as one of the important players in the Japanese economy.2 Manga comprises around thirty percent of the Japanese printing industry3 and over seventy percent of electronic book sales in Japan.4 Popular animation series, often based on original manga, boost sales of character products in neighboring industries, including video games and action figures.5 The Japanese anime and manga industry is a star player in the Japanese economy, just as the film industry is in the U.S. Many Japanese believed that the industry was being threatened while Japan was negotiating to be part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, a multilateral trade agreement signed by twelve Pacific Rim countries including the U.S. and Japan in October, 2015.6 To comply with the agreement, Japan needed to enact a law allowing the Japanese police to file criminal copyright infringement complaints in cases of commercial copyright piracy without the copyright holder’s 1. The Government Released Its First Official Measure of How Arts and Culture Affect the Economy, HOLLYWOOD REP. (Dec. 5, 2013, 9:02 AM), [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/)[ ](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/)[hollywood-creative-industries-add-504-662691.](hollywood-creative-industries-add-504-662691.) 2. See KEIZAI SANGY¯OSH¯O [MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, TRADE AND INDUSTRY], BUNKASANGY¯O RIKKOKU NI MUKETE [TOWARDS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A STRONG PRESENCE IN THE CONTENT INDUSTRY] 6, 15-18, 22-23 (2010), [http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/mono_info_service/](http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/mono_info_service/)[ ](http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/mono_info_service/)[mono/creative/bunkasangyou.pdf](mono/

FAQs

Why does Japan’s copyright system create problems for parody works?

Japan generally does not treat parody as an explicit exception to copyright infringement, so enforcement standards can affect whether parody is legally tolerated or discouraged in the anime and manga ecosystem.

Which U.S. fair use factors are used to evaluate a secondary work?

The analysis applies the purpose and character of the secondary use, the nature of the original work, the amount and substantiality taken, and the effect of the secondary work on the value of the original.

What changes does the article recommend for Japan’s fair use approach to protect “parody”?

It recommends incorporating “transformative use” into the first fair use prong, codifying the definition of “transformative use,” and explicitly restricting judges from evaluating the artistic worth of the secondary work.

Aug 22, 2026

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