The Limitations on the Protection of Program Works Under Japanese Copyright Law

This article examines these problems in the light of the program language, rule, and algorithm limitations on program protection under the Japanese Copyright Act. Section II sets forth the relevant statutory language, and Sections III and IV apply the program language and rule limitations to operating systems software and microcode. Section V considers the scope of protection under Japanese law in applications programs under the algorithm limitation on program protection. Finally, Section VI takes up the problem of whether copying for purposes of reverse engineering can be justified under the Act.