File:Copyright Act of Japan (2006).pdf

This work is in the public domain in Japan according to Article 13 of the Copyright Act of Japan, which states that the following shall not form the subject matter of the rights provided for in this Chapter:

• (i) the Constitution and other laws and regulations;
• (ii) notifications, instructions, circular notices and the like issued by organs of the State or local public entities, independent administrative organs ("independent administrative organs" means those mentioned in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Law for General Rules for Independent Administrative Organs (Law No.103, of 1999); the same shall apply hereinafter) or local independent administrative organs ("local independent administrative organs" means those mentioned in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Law for Local Independent Administrative Organs (Law No.118, of 2003); the same shall apply hereinafter);
• (iii) judgments, decisions, orders and decrees of law courts, as well as rulings and decisions made by administrative organs in proceedings similar to judicial ones;
• (iv) translations and compilations, of those materials mentioned in the preceding three items, made by organs of the State or local public entities, independent administrative organs or local independent administrative organs.

This work is in the public domain in the U.S. because it is an edict of a government, local or foreign. See § 313.6(C)(2) of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, 3rd ed. 2014 (Compendium (Third)). Such documents include "legislative enactments, judicial decisions, administrative rulings, public ordinances, or similar types of official legal materials." These do not include works first published by the United Nations or any of its specialized agencies, or by the Organization of American States. See Compendium (Third) § 313.6(C)(2) and 17 U.S.C. § 104(b)(5).

A non-American governmental edict may still be copyrighted outside the U.S. Similarly, the above U.S. Copyright Office Practice does not prevent U.S. states or localities from holding copyright abroad, depending on foreign copyright laws and regulations.