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24 Tex. Intell. Prop. L.J. 215 (2016)
Does It Have to Be a Copyright Infringement: Live Game Streaming and Copyright

handle is hein.journals/tipj24 and id is 223 raw text is: 







Does it   have   to  be  a Copyright Infringement?: Live Game
Streaming and Copyright


Shigenori   Matsui*


I.  Introduction.............................................216
II. Live Game Streaming and Online Video Games....................217
      A.  Online Video Games  ..................          ................217
      B.  Live Game  Streaming..................................218
III. Live Game Streaming and Copyright............................220
      A.  Copyright........................              .................220
      B.   Game Players.......................................222
      C.   Internet Service Provider or Platform................223
      D.   Viewers.........................             ..................226
HI. Tolerated Infringement.....................................227
      A.   Almost No One Complains.............................227
      B.   Comparison with the United States ......................230
IV. Legalizing Tolerated Infringement.............................235
       A.  Is This an Appropriate Solution?........     ..................235
       B.  Introduction of the General Fair Use Defense...........238
       C.  Alternative Solutions..................................239
       D.  Toward an Alternative Copyright Regime      ...................241
 V. Conclusion...............................................244


    Online video gaming has become very popular in Japan as well as in the United
 States. One of the reasons for the increasing popularity of online video gaming is
 the availability of live game streaming. Live game streaming allows game players to
 upload live gameplay or live stream it online. It created the joy of sharing gameplay
 with other players and of watching other players playing a game. It is agreed that
 such activities are illegal copyright infringement in Japan. However, many game
 players upload live gameplay or live stream it online. Several platforms also
 actively solicit uploading and live streaming by game players. Apparently, these
 acts are tolerated because it is likely that they promote the popularity of video
 gaming  and  increase the number  of players. These  activities are tolerated
 infringement, technically and theoretically illegal copyright infringement, which
 are tolerated by copyright holders. But do these activities really have to be
 copyright infiringement? Do they also have to be illegal? This paper argues that the


215

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