Japan Leavies Royalty Fees on Blu-ray

Japan's ministries of Economy, Trade and Industry and Education, Science and Technology have unanimously agreed to levy a private copy royalty fee against all recordable Blu-ray discs and Blu-ray Disc Recorders in Japan. This was enacted in order to compensate copyright holders whose property would likely be copied using Blu-ray technology.

While some call this a huge win for copyright holders, Kazuo Shiina, executive director of the Japan Council of Performers' Organizations stands by the decision. He commented, "We don't think the agreement reflects copyright holders' opinions at all. We feel the ministries reached the decision while leaving us out of the loop. We won't accept any proposal to relax restrictions on the number of copies."