My friend, who is a producer for music part of advertising films, visited a office a few days ago.
http://eman-eman.blog.drecom.jp/

He informed me very interesting thing that expansion of Internet and Youtube caused a new dispute for their business.

One of well-known music producer participated to advertising commercial film for a certain Japanese manufacturer. He achieved his job successfully with using a foreign music and the film also got good reputation, all were well done.....to be expected. However....

Someone uploaded the film on Youtube.

The contract to use the music were limited for the film and within Japan. So licenser found the video on Youtube complained that it is breach of the contract, since the film could be referred by people from all over the world, but not within Japan.

This never happened while broadband was not expanded and Youtube did not exist.


I could not know what they handled the case.
I will follow the matter and will report here again.

Mizuho Fukushima, Prime minister of Consumer affair ministry, expressed at a new briefing in Miyazaki-city, "we are going to inquest and discuss how we avoid crimes on the network as one of consumer problems" upon topics regarding marriage fraud recently.

by Mainichi news paper
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20091031-00000065-mai-soci

In the middile of big political change in Japan, the consumer ministry as the first ministry on the side of consumers among other ministries rather for the side of industries launched on 1st September.

Consumer Affairs Agency (http://www.caa.go.jp/en/index.html)

Only 200 staffs were attended. It's said rather small organization for japanese population. Originally the ministry has been preparing to start in October until The prime minister ASOH announced it should start at September.
"Consumer hot-line" receives complaints from consumer in nation, it would be transferred automatically to its regional consumer center. All prefectures could launches each center on November, while five leading prefectures already accepted those complaints on September.

Consumer committee who audits the ministry also organized with Professor, consumer center, business, lawyer, to demand reporting or adjuration to the prime minister directly.

The next cabinet, Minshu party, expresses objections to several points, such as the first minister from a government bureaucrat, rather higher cost for a building etc.. However, do not forget related laws were agreed with unanimous passage.
The consumer hot-line already accepted over 600 complaints in four days from its start.