A creative work reflects the creator’s thoughts and emotions.
Definition of “Creative Works”
- A “creative work” is a creation that reflects a person’s thoughts or emotions (Subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Copyright Act).
Creative Works Protected Under the Copyright Act
- Creative works protected under the Copyright Act are categorized as follows (Articles 4(1), 5(1), and 6(1) of the Copyright Act and Major Policies of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).
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Category of Creative Work
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Contents
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Literary Works
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Creative literary works, such as novels, poems, theses, speeches, scripts, etc.
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Musical Works
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Creative musical works, such as classical music, pop songs, K-pop, etc.
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Theatrical Works
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Creative theatrical works that express a person’s thoughts, ideas, or emotions by body movements, such as plays, choreographies, pantomime, etc.
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Artistic Works
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Creative artistic works that express shapes or colors aesthetically, such as pictures, calligraphy, sculptures, crafts, applied fine arts, etc.
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Architectural Works
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Creative architectural works to construct buildings, such as blueprints, models, and buildings. However, buildings with ordinary designs are not considered architectural works. Only buildings having aesthetic value recognized by social norms shall be protected by copyright.
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Photographic Works
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Creative photographic works shall reflect the photographer’s thoughts and emotions creatively and must be original yet aesthetic. Therefore, photos reproducing subjects through simple and mechanical methods are not considered photographic works.
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Cinematographic Works
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Cinematographic works generally include movies, dramas, etc.
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Diagrammatic Works
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Diagrammatic works reflect shapes and figures, such as maps, diagrams, schematics, models, or any other figure. A map is a representative example of a diagrammatic work.
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Computer Program Works
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“Computer Program Works” refer to creative works made by a series of instructions or orders used directly or indirectly in devices with information-processing abilities (i.e., computer) to acquire a specific result.
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Derivative Works
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Derivative works refer to creative works that translate, arrange, transform, dramatize, video produce, or take other measures on the original work. Derivative works are protected as independent creative work.
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Compilation Works
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Some examples of compilation works are encyclopedias, collection of famous poetic works, etc.
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Creative Works Unprotected Under the Copyright Act
- Any creative works falling under any of the following categories shall not be protected under the Copyright Act (Article 7 of the Copyright Act).
· Constitutions, laws, treaties, injunctions, ordinances, and rules
· Public notices, announcements, instructions, or any other similar act fulfilled by the nation or a local government
· Judgments, decisions, orders, or rulings made in court, administrative trial procedures, or any other resolutions or decisions made through similar procedures as the above
· Compilation works or translated works specified above made by the nation or a local government
· News reports solely aimed to convey facts and information
Jointly made creative works are referred to as “works of joint authorship.”
Definition of “Works of Joint Authorship”
- “Works of Joint Authorship” refer to more than two persons jointly making a creative work that must be used collectively, not separately, which means each person shall not use parts made by himself/herself (Subparagraph 21 of Article 2 of the Copyright Act).
- The authors’ moral rights and property rights may be exercised only upon the unanimous agreement of every copyright co-owner involved in the work of joint authorship (Articles 15(1) and 48(1) of the Copyright Act). However, copyright co-owners may nominate a representative copyright co-owner among joint authors to exercise the authors’ moral rights and property rights for the work of joint authorship (Articles 15(2) and 48(4) of the Copyright Act).
Creative works made by foreigners are also protected.
Creative Works of foreigners that are Protected
- Creative works produced by foreigners are protected under treaties acceded or signed by the Republic of Korea (Article 3(1) of the Copyright Act).
- The following cases shall require creative works to be protected under the Copyright Act: - Creative works owned by foreigners who permanently reside in the Republic of Korea (including stateless persons or a foreign corporation that has established a major office in the Republic of Korea), and -A creative work of a foreigner publicly announced in the Republic of Korea (including creative works publicly announced in the Republic of Korea within 30 days after the work has been published abroad).
Restrictions according to the Principle of Reciprocity
- Suppose the foreigner’s native country refuses to protect the creative works of Koreans. In this case, even if the creative works of a foreigner (excluding stateless persons or foreigners who permanently reside in the Republic of Korea) shall be protected under the Copyright Art, Korea may also restrict legal protection for the foreigner’s work (Article 3(3) of the Copyright Act).
- Although the creative works of a foreigner are specified to be protected under the Copyright Act, it shall not be protected if the protective duration stipulated in the foreigner’s native country has expired (Article 3(4) of the Copyright Act).