(Administration of Copyright)
Article 1. The copyright of the textbooks compiled under the name of the Ministry of Education (hereinafter referred to merely as textbooks) shall be administered by the Minister of Education.
2 The Minister of Education may establish the right of publication of the textbooks (hereinafter referred to merely as the right of publication).
3 In the present Law "copyright" shall mean the right as provided for in Article 1 of the Copyright Law (Law No.39, of 1899) and "right of publication" shall mean the right established in accordance with the provision of Article 28-(2) of the same Law.
(Qualification Examination)
Article 2. Those who apply for undertaking the publication of the textbooks shall be subjected to examination about qualification to be made by the Minister of Education.
2 The examination of the preceding paragraph shall aim to make examination whether those who want to procure the right of publication, have enough business ability as well as creditability to manufacture and supply textbooks of good-quality by the time they are required in schools, prior to conducting the competition as provided for in Article 4, so that no trouble shall cause in education.
(Textbook Publication Qualification Examination Committee)
Article 3. The Minister of Education shall inquire of the Textbook Publication Qualification Examination Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Examination Committee) as to the examination as provided for in the preceding Article.
2 The Examination Committee shall consist of not exceeding twenty (20) Committee-men.
3 The committee-men as provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be appointed by the Minister of Education from among men of learning and experience and officials of Ministries (or Boards) concerned.
4 Besides those provided for in the preceding three paragraphs matters needed for the Examination Committee shall be prescribed by cabinet order.
(Form of Contract for Establishment of Right of Publication)
Article 4. The establishment of the right of publication of the textbooks shall be made by means of the competition among those who have passed the examination as provided for in Article 2. However, in case there is no time enough to carry out the competition, the establishment may be made by a private contract with any person who has passed the examination as provided for in Article 2.
(Deposit)
Article 5. One who desires to be admitted to a competition shall deposit in cash or Government bonds the deposit not less than one per cent of the sum multiplied by the estimated manufacturing cost price by the prescribed number of copies which shall be published at the beginning.
2 In case the person who has been awarded a contract does not conclude the contract, his contract deposit shall be reverted to the National Treasury.
(Bidding)
Article 6. The competition shall be conducted by bidding as to the manufacturing cost price per copy, and the right of publication shall be established for the person who made the lowest bidding not exceeding the prescribed manufacturing cost price as indicated by the Minister of Education.
2 In case a competition is effected, it shall be publicly notified in the Official Gazette, journals, notice or by any means possible, at least ten days before computing from the day previous to the date of bidding. However, in urgent cases, the term may be shortened to five days.
3 The notice prescribed in the preceding Article, shall contain the following items:
(1) Kinds of textbooks and number of copies thereof which are prescribed to be published at the beginning;
(2) Place at which clauses of contract are indicated;
(3) Standard of computation of manufacturing cost price;
(4) Place and date of bidding;
(5) Condition about the deposit of bidding.
4 The standard of computation of manufacturing cost price as provided for in item (3) of the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by ordinance in advance.
5 The Minister of Education or officials in charge shall estimate an amount for the manufacturing cost price of textbooks to be bidden and shall put it, enclosing in an envelope, at the opening of bidding at its place.
6 The net price of textbooks shall be computed on the basis of the bidding price as to the manufacturing cost price prescribed by ordinance.
(Opening of Bidding)
Article 7. The opening of bidding shall be carried out before the bidders at the place and at the date and time indicated in the public notice, However, in case of absence of any bidder, an official who has no concern in the bidding shall attend at its opening.
2 The bidder is not allowed to exchange, to change or to cancel his bidding already submitted.
(Second Bidding)
Article 8. If, upon opening bids, none is found coming up, the expected manufacturing cost price limit established in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 5 of Article 5, bids may be called for anew forthwith.
(Determination of Successful Bidder)
Article 9. In case there are two or more persons who have made a successful bid at one and the same price, the successful bidder shall be determined forthwith by drawing lots.
2 If, in the case as stipulated in the preceding paragraph there be any of the bidders who fails to turn up or to draw lots, an official having no concern with the bidding may be caused to draw lots for such bidders.
(Term of Public Notice of Second Bidding)
Article 10. When, in case there is no bidder or no successful bidder at a competition, or in case the successful bidder fails to conclude the contract, bids are again to be called for, the period prescribed in paragraph 2 of Article 5 may be shortened to five days.
(Duty of Publication)
Article 11. When the Minister of Education has designated kind and necessary number of copies of textbooks to be published based on the number of textbooks in demand as reported from prefectural board of education, under the provisions of Article 8 of the Law of Provisionary Measures concerning the Publication of Textbooks (Law No.132 of 1948), any one on whom the right of publication has been established (hereinafter referred to merely as the owner of right of publication) must be responsible for publishing the textbooks designated.
(Revision of Manufacturing Cost Price)
Article 12. In case it becomes owing to the changs in the prices of commodities and other inevitable reasons, necessary during the period of duration of the right of publication, to change the manufacturing cost price, the Minister of Education may confer with the owner of the right of publication to revise the price.
(Obligation to Pay Charge for Publication)
Article 13. When the publication has been designated, the owner of the right of publication shall pay quickly to the national treasury the charge for publication within the limits of between 2% and 16.6% of net price (except the sum same with the charge for publication), in proportion to the number or volumes of which the publication has been designated. However, the Minister of Education may fix the period for the payment of the charge for publication not exceeding four months as from the day of designation of publication.
(Mitigation and Exemption of Obligation of Payment of Charge for Publication)
Article 14. In case the Minister of Education has recognized that the owner of the right of publication has become uuable to manufacture and supply all or part of the textbooks and it has become difficult for him to pay the charge for publication, due to natural calamities or other reasons unaccountable to him, or in case the said Minister has recognized that it has been necessary to reduce the price particularly from the viewpoint of the compulsory education when the number of publication of textbooks are not over 50,000, the said Minister may mitigate or exempt the charge for publication.
(Lapse of Right of Publication)
Article 15. In case there is a certain reason falling under one of the following cases, the Minister of Education may have a right of publication lapsed:
(1) When it has been recognized that the enterprising ability and state of credit of the owner of the right of publication has got so low, as compared with that of the time when the right of publication has been established, that he has been unable to manufacture and supply the textbooks causing no trouble in education;
(2) When the said owner fails to fulfil his obligation as provided for in Article 11 or Article 13;
(3) When the Minister of Education has canceled the designation of publication in accordance with the provisions of Article 14 or Article 15 of the Law of Provisionary Measures concerning the Publication of Textbooks.
2 The Minister of Education shall inquire of the Examination Committee before he makes the recognition as provided for in item (1) of the preceding paragraph.
3 In case the conference as provided for in Article 12 has not been settled, or the owner of the right of publication or the Minister of Education may have a right of publication lapsed.
Article 16. In case a right of publication has lapsed, the Minister of Education may order the person for whom a right of publication has been established, to confer with the person for whom the Minister of Education has newly established the said right in accordance with the provisions of Article 4, as to the assignment of the textbooks, half-made as well as ready-made and the printing-mould which the former owner has possessed at the time of the time of the lapse.
2 In case it has passed more than one month as from the day of the lapse of a right of publication, the order for conference as provided for in the preceding paragraph shall not be made.
3 In case the conference as provided for in paragraph 1 has not been settled, or in case it has been impossible to confer, the Minister of Education shall decide as to the assignment.
4 In case the decision as provided for in the preceding paragraph has been made, it shall be deemed that the conference between the persons concerned has been settled as provided for in decision.
5 Any of those concerned with the assignment who is not satisfied as to the assigning price in the decision as provided for in paragraph 3 may claim the increase or the decrease of the sum by means of suit within three months from the day on which he received the information of the decision.
6 In the suit as provided for in the preceding paragraph, one of the persons concerned with the assignment shall be the defendant.
(Assignment of Right of Publication, etc.)
Article 17. A right of publication shall not be assigned without the approval of the Minister of Education.
2 The provisions of Article 11 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the person who has been assigned a right of publication as the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
3 A right of publication of textbooks shall not be pledged.
(Application to Other Books)
Article 18. The provisions of the present Law shall apply mutatis mutandis, as prescribed by cabinet order, to those books to be used in education which are not textbooks but are compiled under the name of the Ministry of Education.
(Application of Other Law and Ordinance)
Article 19. As to the matters concerning the establishment and administration of the right of publication of textbooks, so long as they are not contrary to the character, the Copyright Law (Law No.39 of 1899) the Finance Law (Law No.34 of 1947), the Accounts Law (Law No.35 of 1947), the National Property Law (Law No.73 of 1948) and the provisions of ordinance based on the provisions of this Law shall apply.
(Enforcement Cabinet Order)
Article 20. Necessary procedural and administrative matters for enforcement of the present Law shall be prescribed by cabinet order.
Supplementary Provisions:
1. The present Law shall come into force as from the day of its promulgation.
2. The right of publication owned by those who are managing the publication of textbooks at the time of the enforcement of the present Law shall be deemed to be the right of publication established on the provisions of the present Law.
3. In case the right of publication is newly established, as to the textbook whose right of publication shall lapse during the period between October 1, 1948 and March 31, 1950, the said right may, regardless of the provisions of Article 4, be established by means of a private contract, unless it is recognized improper to let them compete with one another, so that the manufacture and supply of textbooks may be in time for the period when they are needed for education.
4. The kind of textbook the right of publication of which may be established pursuant to the provision of the preceding paragraph by a private contract shall be fixed by the Minister of Education with the consultation of the Textbook Committee.