Image Use Protocol Task Force:

The NCC's Image Use Protocol Task Force (IUP Task Force) was commissioned at the January 2007 NCC advisory board meeting in response to discussion among scholars and librarians about the growing importance of images from manga frames to photographs of ancient sculpture in the Japan studies research and the complicated process of obtaining the necessary permission to reproduce these important images in academic publications and presentations. While Japanese publishers or editors often do the work of obtaining contracts for image use in their authors' works, most North American scholars are responsible for negotiating the rights to the images they need without the assistance of other experts. We thought it would be helpful to provide Japan studies specialists working outside Japan with information resources that support them as they work through the process of acquiring and using images within the boundaries of copyright regulations.

The IUP Task Force is co-chaired by Akio Yasue, former Deputy Librarian of the National Diet Library, and Theodore Bestor, Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University. Its 14 members represent publishing, museums, libraries and academic disciplines from history to anthropology to law; members come from both Japan and North America. A number of other scholars and professionals working in fields from art history to publishing to photo archiving services have assisted us in understanding the unique challenges of using Japanese images abroad and in thinking about how to make the protection of copyright an easier task for both Japan studies researchers and Japanese image rights holders.