Director and copyright
Isn’t the director a “copyright holder”?!
In 1971, the Copyright Act was revised so that the copyright of a film belongs to the film production company. Therefore, currently, directors do not have copyright. However, they do have "moral rights" as authors (right to maintain the integrity, right to display the name, right to publish). In other words, they do not have "property rights" as copyright holders, but they do have "moral rights" as authors. The Directors Guild of Japan has been promoting a movement to revise the Copyright Act in order to acquire copyright, and first worked to expand and protect rights in the form of collective agreements with film production companies and others. In recent years, we have been lobbying the non-partisan League of Lawmakers for the Promotion of Culture and the Arts in the Diet, aiming to revise the law so that copyright is granted to the director and then transferred to the producer by contract.
freedom of expression
The Directors Association strives to establish and protect freedom of expression, and aims to improve the status of directors and expand the various rights of its members.
Director and copyright
Isn’t the director a “copyright holder”?!
In 1971, the Copyright Act was revised so that the copyright of a film belongs to the film production company. Therefore, currently, directors do not have copyright. However, they do have "moral rights" as authors (right to maintain the integrity, right to display the name, right to publish). In other words, they do not have "property rights" as copyright holders, but they do have "moral rights" as authors. The Directors Guild of Japan has been promoting a movement to revise the Copyright Act in order to acquire copyright, and first worked to expand and protect rights in the form of collective agreements with film production companies and others. In recent years, we have been lobbying the non-partisan League of Lawmakers for the Promotion of Culture and the Arts in the Diet, aiming to revise the law so that copyright is granted to the director and then transferred to the producer by contract.
freedom of expression
The Directors Association strives to establish and protect freedom of expression, and aims to improve the status of directors and expand the various rights of its members.