Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs Releases 'AI and Copyright' Report
"Ideas Should Be Freely Used for Cultural Development"
Japanese Design Magazine Says, "The Real Villain Is Not OpenAI"
It has been revealed that the Japanese government published a report last year supporting the claim that ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli copyright infringement controversy is "not a copyright infringement." OpenAI launched a service last month through ChatGPT-4o that transforms user-uploaded photos into the Ghibli art style, gaining worldwide popularity.
In March last year, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs released a report titled "Considerations on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Copyright," stating that "creations that only have similarities in style or art style, without direct similarity to existing works, are not considered copyright infringement." According to this statement, imitating the drawing style of Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki through the ChatGPT service operated by OpenAI can be interpreted as not violating copyright law in Japan.
The report established the principle that "style or art style is an 'idea,' and ideas are not protected by copyright law." Regarding this, it explained, "If ideas were protected by copyright law, it could restrict common expressive activities and conflict with freedom of expression or academic freedom," and added, "Allowing free use of ideas enriches works and information in society, promotes cultural development, and contributes to achieving the purpose of copyright law."
The Agency for Cultural Affairs held multiple meetings through the Copyright Subcommittee starting from July 2023 to discuss how to interpret AI within the framework of copyright law, and after collecting public opinions, released this report. Following the report's publication, Professor Jang Ye-young of the Faculty of Law at Dokkyo University in Japan also explained through an issue report published by the Korea Copyright Commission that "(Japan) clearly stated that ideas are not protected by copyright."
The design specialty media 'Yanko Design' published an editorial titled "How Japan's Copyright Law Allowed ChatGPT to Blatantly Steal Studio Ghibli's Works" on its website on the 31st of last month. Yanko Design website
According to the stance of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, if AI merely imitates the art style without generating scenes or stories from Ghibli works, it seems difficult to raise copyright issues. For example, it is considered a legal act as long as AI does not create a photo standing next to Totoro or reproduce scenes from Spirited Away.
On the 31st of last month, the online design magazine YANKO DESIGN also presented a similar interpretation. YANKO DESIGN is a media outlet created by a Japanese person named Takashi Yamada, introducing innovative works in the global design field.
In an editorial titled "How Japanese Copyright Law Allows ChatGPT to Blatantly Steal Studio Ghibli's Works," YANKO DESIGN pointed out that "the real villain is not OpenAI but Japan's copyright system, which is hostile to creators," and criticized it as "extreme cognitive dissonance for a country (Japan) that has built significant cultural capital and soft power through artistic exports."
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