Learn in the textbookThe Copyright Act and the Industrial Property Right Laws
DefinitionThe Copyright Act (著作権法) protects works (著作物), meaning creative expressions of thoughts or feelings, and the right in them (copyright, 著作権) arises automatically the moment a work is created.
ExplanationThis principle, under which rights arise with no filing or registration, is called automatic protection (無方式主義). Works include not only writing, music, and photographs but also computer programs as a form of expression. Copying for private use and proper quotation with the source cited are allowed in principle, but publishing or distributing someone else's work without permission can be an infringement.
AnalogyIt is like writing a poem in your notebook: from that moment it counts as your own work, with no need to wait for a government office to process anything.
Memory hookThe character 著 comes from arawasu (著す), meaning to write down or express. Remember it from the character: the right attaches the instant a work is expressed.