JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Atsushi Igarashi, Yoichiro Kuriyama, Misa Takahashi and Kosuke Ojio, TMI Associates
5.6 Assignment of IP Rights Assignment of IP rights to third parties is permitted under Japanese law, but there are several important legal restrictions. • Patents, trade marks, and designs – to make the transfer effective against third parties, mandatory registration with the JPO is required. • Copyright Act – translation rights, adaptation rights, and the rights of the original author in con - nection with a derivative work are generally not automatically assigned. These rights are presumed to remain with the copyright holder unless they are specifically addressed and transferred in the contract. • Moral rights – moral rights under copyright cannot be assigned under any circumstances. 5.7 Data in Sport The data collected from athletes is used to support coaching and training, as well as to enhance their athletic performance. It is also utilised to increase fan engagement and to develop products and services for sponsors and other stakeholders. Similarly, by gathering and analysing spectator data – such as visit histories to venues, fan demographics, and purchase histories for tickets and merchandise – sports organisations have been able to refine their marketing strategies. This has helped increase the number of visitors and fans, attract new sponsors, and improve product development and promotional activities for sponsors and other stakeholders. 5.8 Data Protection Sports data is subject to protection under the Per - sonal Information Protection Act when it qualifies as personal information. Personal information is defined as data relating to an individual that can identify that person through a name, date of birth, or other identi - fying details contained within the information. When providing such data to a third party, it is necessary either to obtain the individual’s explicit consent or to clearly specify in advance – typically in a privacy policy – the nature of the information, the purpose for which it will be used, and the method by which it will be provided.
If personal data will be used jointly with other parties, the privacy policy must also specify the categories of personal data to be shared, the scope of parties involved in the joint use, and the intended purpose of that use. Additionally, information related to the results of dop - ing control testing is treated with heightened protec - tions as “special care–required personal information”. The acquisition of this type of data requires the explicit consent of the individual concerned. GDPR Issues When handling the personal data of individuals resid - ing in the EU, it is necessary to comply with the Gen - eral Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In January 2019, the European Commission adopted a privacy adequacy decision for Japan, enabling smoother and more straightforward transfers of personal data between Japan and the EU. The national courts may hear disputes concerning the existence or non‑existence of specific legal rights, obligations, or legal relationships between the parties, provided that such disputes can be finally resolved through the application of law. However, disputes that are non‑legal in nature – such as those involving ath - lete selection or matters that fall entirely within the internal authority of an organisation – generally cannot be resolved by a court. Domestic sports‑related arbitration and mediation is conducted by the Japan Sports Arbitration Agency (JSAA), as well as by sports organisations that oper - ate their own dispute‑resolution mechanisms. It is not mandatory to submit a dispute to arbitration or mediation through the JSAA, nor is it necessary to use the dispute‑resolution procedures provided by sports organisations before bringing a dispute before the courts. 6.2 ADR Mechanisms Any dissatisfaction with a decision made by a sports organisation may give rise to an appeal, either within 6. Dispute Resolution 6.1 Role of National Court Systems
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