What is Copymart?

The term "Copymart" is coined by Prof. Zentaro Kitagawa. Copymart consists of two types of database systems. One is a database of registered copyrights, known as the "copyright market"(CRM). The other is a database of works, called the "copy market"(COM). Take a look at the diagram of Copymart below. The left side refers to right holders and the right side to users. The left part of Copymart, the middle zone between users and right holders, is the copy market (COM). The right part is the copyright market (CRM). Of course, Copymart will be linked with other systems such as electronic payment system, electronic authentication system, encryption, and the like.

Copymart is a contract-based model. Precisely, it is not a traditional contract for the reason that the contracting takes place in the computer system, which combines information processing and telecommunication system. This new kind of contract is called as "system contract," and Copymart is a good example of system contract. The most important point is that Copymart is a marketplace where right holders can in advance decide the terms and conditions of licensing their own copyrights. Another point is that as the term "market" is used, Copymart is a transactions market of copyrighted works in large quantity. Copymart deals not only with copyrighted works but also with copyrights themselves. This is the so-called "transactions in rights", gradually pervasive in Japan, in which the subject matter of transactions is copyrights.

(c) Copymart Institute