日本著作權法之間接侵害責任在網路新興科技發展之流變

The Changes of Secondary Liability on Emerging Internet Technology in Japanese Copyright Law

由於科技不斷推陳出新，科技發展所帶動之著作利用形態日趨複雜，提供網路新興科技的產品、系統或服務之行為人，雖未直接有任何侵害著作權之行為，但對著作權人而言提供新興科技者是幫助著作遭到直接利用人侵害之「間接行為人」。日本著作權法中賦予權利人不作為請求權，惟條文並未明文是否適用於間接參與行為人，因此必須先釐清間接參與行為人是否為侵害著作權主體，日本實務為使間接參與行為人負相應之責任，乃藉由判例法理擴張侵權主體之認定範圍，發展出「卡拉OK法理」以補充法律所不足之處。
卡拉OK法理因在判斷主體上具有一般性，對日本間接侵害案件之判斷影響甚深，然而卡拉OK法理普遍被認為存有過度擴張主體認定範圍的問題，尤其是網路新興科技的發展，在判斷提供產品、系統或服務之人是否該當侵害主體時，也必須考量對產業發展的影響，避免因司法解釋而妨礙新興科技未來發展可能性。

The highly developed emerging technologies made the ways to use copyrighted works more complicated, the internet emerging technologies providers of product, system and service, they never directly commit infringement. For the copyright holder, however, the providers had substantially contributed to infringe copyrighted works for direct users. Although the copyright holder has aright to demand an injunction under Japanese Copyright Act, the provision whether applies to the providers is not clear enough. The court in Japan must clarify the providers’subjectivity of copyright infringement first. The judicial practice in Japan tries to make the providers be liable for such infringement, thus there had been a“legal principle of karaoke”that was established from the precedent to broaden the scope of infringing subjectivity, and to supplement the demerits of Japanese Copyright Act.
Because the inclusion about legal principle of karaoke has become ageneral principle of law while judging subjectivity, it deeply has influence over cases of indirect infringement in Japan. However, the legal principle of karaoke is usually considered as unduly broadening the scope of infringing subjectivity. Especially for the advance of internet emerging technologies, we have to consider the influence on industry development while imposing the provider of product, system or service direct liability. Thus, we should avoid adversely impeding possible innovation of new technologies because of judicial interpretation.