tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428618.post3578572626685147459..comments2024-01-20T00:59:08.689+00:00Comments on Brave New World: Jisui: Digital Book DIYMartyn Danielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02134633193540004531noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428618.post-53789514556594715812010-09-29T03:57:07.080+00:002010-09-29T03:57:07.080+00:00UPATE. 9-29
>> It's 'Jisui' War...UPATE. 9-29<br /><br />>> It's 'Jisui' War'! -- Digitizing books into e-books stirs the<br />>> copyright pot in Japan<br />>><br />>> It's called 'jisui' and it means 'cooking your own meals'<br />>><br />>> by Danny Bloom<br />>><br />>><br />>> TOKYO -- As the digital age grows more and more complicated, in terms<br />>> of copyright law and copyright theft, some Japanese companies are<br />>> "cooking their own meals" in a way that<br />>> some book publishers can't quite digest. A few enterprising firms are<br />>> setting up shop to digitize selected paper books into e-books for<br />>> individual customers. But lawyers for the<br />>> Japan Book Publishers Association (JBPA) say the practice violates<br />>> Japanese Copyright Law. Oops.This is how it happens, according to a<br />>> recent report in the Japanese-langauge Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. The<br />>> firms remove the spines of books, scan the pages for transfer to<br />>> e-readers and the money is coming in. A new business blueprint is<br />>> born. In Japanesee, the practice cis alled "jisui" "(cooking your own<br />>> meals").<br />>><br />>> It is legal for Japanese to digitize their own books for their own<br />>> use, according to sources, but to do it for paying customers is a<br />>> violation of the Copyright Law of Japan.<br />>> In order to get out of the tight corner they find themselves in, and<br />>> cook the meals properly, the half-dozen companies providing the<br />>> "jisui" service argue they are not digitizing books for commercial<br />>> use.<br />>><br />>> Reproduction of books for private use is allowed under the Copyright<br />>> Law of Japan, but not for other people's use, especially paying<br />>> customers. And there's the rub.<br />>><br />>> According to the Yomiuri, which has a circulation of 10 million<br />>> readers in a country of 125 million people, there are more than 10<br />>> companies currently taking orders for digitizing books, which is<br />>> labor-intensive and time-consuming. The companies charge from several<br />>> tens of yen to several hundreds of yen per book. It's not small<br />>> change.<br />>><br />>> The jisui process is simple: After digitizing a book, the jisui firms<br />>> return the data to customers on a DVD or via the Internet, and clients<br />>> then transfer the data to an e-reader. Done deal. Everyone's happy.<br />>> Except<br />>> the JBPA.<br />>><br />>> The new business idea is catching on, too. One company that started<br />>> digitizing books in July received orders for 10,000 books in August,<br />>> and the number is likely to reach 15,000 in in October.<br />>><br />>> "[The operation of this business] might be in a gray zone in terms of<br />>> copyright violation," the company's PR office told a Yomiuri reporter<br />>> last week. "But we think there's no problem regarding copyrights since<br />>> we just do this on behalf of individuals."<br />>><br />>> The JBPA does not plan to take all this sitting down. First up is a<br />>> plan to issue a warning against such business practives. Any<br />>> reproduction other than copying books for private use will be<br />>> considered illegal, the JBPA insists.<br />>><br />>> So what does Japan's legal community think of all "jisui" business.<br />>> One lawyer who specializes in Japanese copyright law is of the opinion<br />>> that "while reproduction for private use can be carried out by the<br />>> individual who will use the e-book, it is not legal for a third party<br />>> to do it for payment." Case closed? Hardly. This is just the<br />>> beginning of the "jisui wars" set to rock Tokyo's publishing<br />>> juggernaut in coming years.DANIELBLOOMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130493903696077379noreply@blogger.com