X15. Copyright Overview

1. Concept of literary work

1) Expression of creative feelings or ideas: Not all creative works are protected by the Copyright Act, but above all, they must be creative. Even if it is a literary work that is morally and ethically criticized, it is protected under the Copyright Act as long as it has creativity.

2) Expressed: Copyright law protects what is expressed.

2. Literary works to be protected

1) Works exemplified in the Copyright Act: musical works, literary works, theatrical works, architectural works, photographic works, artistic works, graphic works, video works, computer program works, edited works, derivative works

2) Derivative work: A work created from an original work by various methods such as translation, adaptation, arrangement, transformation, video production, etc is defined as a derivative work. Derivative works are protected as independent literary works from the original work; however, one must obtain a permission from the original author to be able to produce derivative works.

4) Editorial work: Editorial work is also protected as an independent literary work, and this work means that there is creativity in the arrangement, selection, or composition of the material.

5) Character protection: If the font is a literary work, the font is subject to copyright law, and the copyright owner can establish and transfer a commercialization right to a business partner through a contract.

3. Unprotected literary works

1) Constitutions, treaties, laws, orders, rules and ordinances

2) Announcements

3) Judgments, orders, decisions, resolutions

4) Written by the state or local governments

5) Simple delivery of facts

4. Author

Author means the person who first created the literary work. In principle, the copyright holder becomes the author. But, the owner of a literary work and the copyright holder are separate concepts. The Copyright Act stipulates that the author is presumed a person who created the original or a copy literary work and is widely known by his or her name. Also, it stipulates that the author is the person whose name is well known when the literary work is played or aired.

5. When the author and creator are different

Authors and creators are often different. According to the Copyright Act, when a literary work is done in a company, the author of the work is the company unless there is another contract. In the case of a video work, in general, the video producer has the right to use the video work.

6. Copyright and Ownership

Ownership does not make you a copyright holder. In other words, it is legal to watch movies or books purchased from paid sites, but posting them on your blog without permission is illegal under the Copyright Act. Another example is a photo taken in a photo studio. According to the Copyright Act, a photograph is a photographic work with added creativity, and the author becomes a private photo studio. However, under the Copyright Act, photo studios cannot use photos without the permission of the client who requested the photo shoot. Also, the copyright law only extends to the act of filming, but not to the recorded media. Therefore, the original plate of the photograph becomes the property of the photographing client. In this way, the owner of the photo and the copyright holder are different.