{"rewrite":{"id":"r_6fd939a8ecc21fa57044b291","clusterId":"c_f1e0d44bf0e47117b8ab3cfd","slug":"cedec-2026-panel-dissects-game-music-copyright-buyouts","model":"deepseek-v4-flash:free","headline":"CEDEC 2026 Panel Dissects Game Music Copyright Buyouts","summary":"At CEDEC 2026, held July 22-24 at Pacifico Yokohama North, a regular session on July 23 tackled the contentious practice of game music copyright buyouts. JASRAC board member Endo, also a musician and songwriter, and composer Shogo Sakai led the panel, which covered the basics of copyright, how it applies to games, whether buyouts are problematic, and options under the current system. Sakai, who has worked in the game industry for over 30 years and went freelance in 2023, said he only learned about work-for-hire and corporate authorship about a year ago during an online seminar with Endo. He recalled signing contracts at HAL Laboratory around 2000 that assigned copyright to the company, without realizing the legal term for it. The panel noted that in games, work-for-hire typically makes the employer, often the game company, the rights holder, not the individual creator. Endo explained that game companies often buy out freelance composers' rights to avoid paying JASRAC fees, since unregistered music would fall under JASRAC management and require payments. He recommended JASRAC's game commission system, which waives usage fees for game-related uses, but acknowledged it is not widely adopted. Sakai also warned that without JASRAC registration, royalties from overseas use do not return to Japan.","whyItMatters":"The panel framed the buyout issue as a structural imbalance where game companies avoid JASRAC payments while freelance composers lose royalty income, a problem that grows as game music gains global reach through concerts and streaming.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe panel also walked through the five conditions that must be met for work-for-hire to apply: the work is done at the corporation\u0026#39;s initiative, by an employee of the corporation, as part of the job, published under the corporation\u0026#39;s name, and with no special agreement to the contrary. Endo noted that if a composed track resembles another piece and a lawsuit follows, the rights holder is the corporation, so the suit targets the company, not the individual.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSakai pointed to a freelance illustration example: a freelancer who draws for a textbook keeps the copyright even after being paid, so a revised edition the next year still requires the illustrator\u0026#39;s permission. He said contracts in the game industry often include clauses barring the creator from saying they made the work, and buyouts sometimes pay only the production fee. Endo added that moral rights, including the right of attribution and the right to integrity, cannot be transferred or inherited, and companies respond by inserting a \u0026#34;non-exercise of moral rights\u0026#34; clause, whose validity under the new freelance law is case by case.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEndo recommended JASRAC or NexTone for managing game music rights, saying revenue can come from concerts and subscription services as game music circulates independently. He noted there are over a hundred music rights organizations worldwide, and foreign bodies do not remit royalties for songs not registered with JASRAC. Sakai called game content an export industry second only to automobiles, arguing royalties should flow back to Japan through registration.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Composer Shogo Sakai spent 30+ years writing game music, then learned the work wasn't his: 'That's not my right.' A CEDEC 2026 panel on why game companies hold the copyrights.","twitterPost":"JASRAC board member says game companies buy out music rights partly to avoid paying JASRAC fees. The fix? A commission system that few companies actually use. Details from CEDEC 2026.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"At CEDEC 2026, a JASRAC board member and veteran composer dissected why game music copyrights belong to companies, not creators. The panel covered work-for-hire rules, buyout practices, and a little-used commission system that could route royalties back to composers.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Inside\",\"url\":\"https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2026/08/04/185704.html\",\"title\":\"ゲーム音楽の著作権は、なぜ会社のもの？職務著作の仕組みと直面する問題をJASRAC理事と作曲家が徹底解説【CEDEC 2026】\"},{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/08/04/170178.html\",\"title\":\"ゲーム音楽の著作権は、なぜ会社のもの？職務著作の仕組みと直面する問題をJASRAC理事と作曲家が徹底解説【CEDEC 2026】\"},{\"source\":\"GameBusiness.jp\",\"url\":\"https://www.gamebusiness.jp/article/2026/08/05/27616.html\",\"title\":\"ゲーム音楽の著作権は、なぜ会社のもの？職務著作の仕組みと直面する問題をJASRAC理事と作曲家が徹底解説【CEDEC 2026】\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":29456,"outputTokens":1523,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1785881843,"createdAt":"2026-08-04T22:11:08.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-08-04T22:12:23.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-04T22:11:08.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_f1e0d44bf0e47117b8ab3cfd","canonicalTitle":"ゲーム音楽の著作権は、なぜ会社のもの？職務著作の仕組みと直面する問題をJASRAC理事と作曲家が徹底解説【CEDEC 2026】","representativeArticleId":"a_d662a632a6562084d61cdf5e","sourceCount":3,"writtenSourceCount":3,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"music\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-08-04T02:50:02.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-08-04T21:30:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-04T22:12:23.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"GameBusiness.jp","url":"https://www.gamebusiness.jp/article/2026/08/05/27616.html","title":"ゲーム音楽の著作権は、なぜ会社のもの？職務著作の仕組みと直面する問題をJASRAC理事と作曲家が徹底解説【CEDEC 2026】"},{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/08/04/170178.html","title":"ゲーム音楽の著作権は、なぜ会社のもの？職務著作の仕組みと直面する問題をJASRAC理事と作曲家が徹底解説【CEDEC 2026】"},{"source":"Inside","url":"https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2026/08/04/185704.html","title":"ゲーム音楽の著作権は、なぜ会社のもの？職務著作の仕組みと直面する問題をJASRAC理事と作曲家が徹底解説【CEDEC 2026】"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"music","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["CEDEC 2026 took place July 22-24 at Pacifico Yokohama North, with the game music copyright panel held on July 23.","Composer Shogo Sakai has worked in the game industry for over 30 years and went freelance in 2023.","Sakai signed contracts at HAL Laboratory around 2000 that assigned copyright to the company.","JASRAC board member Endo recommended the game commission system, which waives usage fees for game-related uses.","Sakai said that without JASRAC registration, royalties from overseas use do not return to Japan."]}