Japan Toughens Copyright Law (If Not Scofflaws’ Penalties)

“The Japanese parliament has passed an amendment to the existing Copyright Law that extends further protections to copyright holders and, for the first time, makes it illegal for private users to download copyrighted material that has been uploaded without the rights holders’ permission. The new statute will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2010[,] but contains several caveats that raise the question of how it will be enforced.” (Scroll down.)