53. Copyright restrictions

  Let's continue the discussion on “Introduction to Intellectual Property and Understanding Intellectual Property”. Among them, today we will look at “Restrictions on Copyright”.

  The Korean Copyright Act stipulates that the two axes of equality should be maintained: the protection of the rights given to the author and the fair use of the literary work. Fair use in a literary work appears in the form of restrictions on the rights of the authors, as long as they do not infringe upon the rights of the authors.

1. Period of protection of a copyright

  The period of protection of a copyright is a very important device for harmonizing the realization of the exclusive interest of the copyright holder and the pursuit of the public interest. During the protection period, an incentive is provided through the exclusive right of the copyright holder, but after the limited period, anyone can freely use the literary work.

According to the FTA between Korea and the EU, since July 2013, the copyright protection period was set to 70 years after the death of the copyright holder. Also, from August 2013 by the Korea-US FTA, the period of protection of the neighboring works was set to 70 years after death of the author.

2. Restrictions on author's property rights

  In the following cases, copyrights are restricted so that literary works can be used without permission from the copyright holder.

  1) Reproduction for legislative, judicial, and administrative purposes

  2) Reproduction for educational purposes

  3) Performance and broadcasting for non-profit purposes

  4) Home use for private use

  5) Criticism, reporting, education, research, etc.

  6) Reproduction and transmission of materials in the library and such

  7) Reproduction for non-commercial purposes

  8) Reproduction in Braille for the visually impaired people

  9) Temporary recording for self-broadcasting

  10) Display or reproduction in a certain place

  11) Temporary reproduction in the process of use

  12) Arrangement, translation, and adaptation for the above processes

  For example, if a scene from a drama is used for commercial purposes, it constitutes copyright infringement, but citation for criticism is permitted. It is also permitted for use in school education below high school. However, in this case, a certain level of compensation must be paid to the intellectual property right holder. Elementary, middle, high school, university, and graduate school may distribute, perform, reproduce, or broadcast a part of a literary work if it is deemed necessary for the purpose of instruction, and allow students to reproduce or transmit the work for instructional purposes. Reproduction and distribution as transmission or test questions for distance learning or Internet training is also permitted.

  And the law allows personal, non-commercial use at home. In addition, as long as it is not for profit, the performance or broadcasting of the work is possible, and reproduction through libraries is also permitted. In addition, in the Korea-US FTA, a comprehensive fair use clause was newly established to allow the use of literary works for education, criticism, reporting, research, etc. within the level that does not impair the interests of authors.

3. Legal permission for use of literary works

  The permission of the copyright holder is essential for the use of literary works. However, if it is impossible to determine the location of the copyright holder despite “significant effort”, the use of copyright can be permitted by law, which is defined as statutory permission. This statutory permission policy is used when it is impossible to obtain permission to use the work because the residence of the owner of the copyright is unknown, when it is intended to be broadcast for the public interest but there is no agreement with the copyright holder, and when the three-year-old record is produced as another record for sale but there is no consent with the copyright holder and in this case, compensation according to the standards set by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism should be paid to the intellectual property right holder.

  Today, we learned about “Restrictions on Copyright”. Next, we will discuss “copyright infringement and remedies”.

  

 

*I am a student learning IP, not an IP expert. Translation is also Google translator and my insufficient English skills. I hope it will be helpful for those who do not have the relevant knowledge or who want to learn about IP.

 

*The above is what I learned from a book compiled by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and Korea Invention Promotion Association (published by Pakmungak) entitled “Introduction to Intellectual Property, Understanding Intellectual Property”.