Since Japan is a civil law system, the restrictions on copyright have always been individual " limitations on copyright ". In recent years, the development of emerging technologies on the Internet has changed the traditional acts of exploitation of work. In order to protect the rights and interests of authors and maintain the right of the public could legally access work, the limitations on copyright in Japan must have been amended in response to the various disputes about the environment of exploitation of work.
The Japanese provisions of limitations on copyright are characterized by their clarity, but they are unable to timely respond to the controversies of emerging technologies on the Internet in Copyright Law. After analyzing the concept of "rule and standard" in law and economics and the relevant factors such as the social situation and judicial resources in Japan, Japanese government decided not to use the concept of fair use, but to adopt a "flexible limitations on copyright" that is clear and responsive to the legal issues about the changes of copyright use.
The provisions of flexible limitations on copyright are distinguished three degrees from the acts of exploitation that prejudiced the interests of the economic rights holder. By adjusting the scope of the limitations on copyright, the government can balance the development of industry, the public's right to access work, and the interests of copyright owners.
Under this concept, the recent amendments to the protection of Internet content in Japan are to restrict the limitations of copyright and gradually to strengthen the protection of economic rights holder. For those who directly infringe copyright on Internet content, criminal penalties are imposed; however, only if the actor is intentional, and the behavior is repeated and continuous. In addition to those who indirectly infringe online content, such as people who provide the public with software and hardware technical assistance for linking illegal content on the Internet are considered to constitute infringement of copyright and subject to civil and criminal liability.
In Taiwan, because of fair use in Copyright Law, the government doesn’t have to amend the law frequently. However, the actors cannot predict the legal risks in advance, and the courts are not entirely uniform in their attitude towards the four bases of fair use in trials. As Taiwan is also a civil law system, the interpretation of fair use should be included a certain degree of clarity for the public and the courts to follow, otherwise the generalized terms will cause the less willing of the public to follow the law and the judiciary overload.