Supreme Court Affirms Damages in Band Score Copying Case, Setting First Precedent for Non-Copyrighted Works

WISECODE Take

The essence of this ruling lies in overturning the commercial misconception that 'as long as a work lacks copyright protection, anyone can freely copy it to generate ad revenue.' On October 9, 2026, Japan's Supreme Court finalized a decision ordering a website operator to pay approximately 169 million yen in Civil Code damages for copying 579 music scores from publisher Fairy. Historically, transcribing recorded music into scores was viewed as lacking sufficient creativity for copyright protection. However, the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that commercial copying with over 90% similarity to collect ad revenue exceeds fair competition and constitutes unlawful business interference. This is similar to the financial investment sector, where a free-rider copies a firm's research data without incurring costs, ultimately disrupting market order. While this decision does not restrict normal competition for tech innovators, companies investing heavily in structured data collection will find that Chidian's trade secret management system implementation can strengthen protection beyond copyright law. Business leaders should take two key steps. First, review whether core datasets rely solely on copyright, and consider adding contractual or physical access controls. Second, systematically document the financial and labor costs of data compilation, as this serves as crucial evidence for calculating damages under tort law. When legal remedies expand from copyright to general tort liability, the decisive factor shifts from mere creativity to whether a competitor has unfairly exploited your operational investment.