The creator may register copyrights for his/her work.
Definition of “Copyright Registration”- “Copyright Registration” involves the creator registering his/her creative work on an official copyright register to indicate its specific factual grounds and legal relations and publicly announce the work to the people of Korea [Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism_Major Policies].
Matters to Register for Copyright- The creator may register the following matters for copyright (Article 53(1) of the Copyright Act and Article 24 of the Enforcement Decree thereof).
· The creator’s real name, pseudonym (only if the creator’s pseudonym is used during the publication), nationality, address, or residence
· The creative work’s title, type, and creation date
· Publication status and the nation and date when the work was initially published
· For derivative works, the original work’s title and author
· For published works, the information of the media which publicized the creative work
· For works with more than two copyright co-owners, the share owned by each creator
- Suppose the creator passed away. Unless the creator particularly expressed his/her intention to do so otherwise, the person nominated by the creator’s will or the creator’s inheritor may register matters for the copyright mentioned above (Article 53(2) of the Copyright Act).
Procedures for Copyright Registration- Persons intending to register copyrights shall submit the copyright registration application to the Korea Copyright Commission (Article 26(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Copyright Act).
Disapproval of the Registration Application- If the applicant falls under any of the following cases, the Korea Copyright Commission may disapprove his/her application (main text of Article 55(2) of the Copyright Act).
1. If the subject applied for copyright registration is not creative work,
2. If the subject applied for copyright registration is not protected under Article 7 of the Copyright Act,
3. If a person not entitled to apply requested for copyright registration,
4. If the applicant did not attach data or documents required to apply for registration,
5. If registration matters do not coincide with the contents of the registration application’s attachment specified under Article 6 of the Enforcement Rules of the Copyright Act, or 6. If the registration application does not comply with the format specified under Article 6 of the Enforcement Rules of the Copyright Act.
※ However, the application shall not be disapproved if the applicant can revise any mistake above and have it corrected by the application date (Conditions of Article 55(2) of the Copyright Act).
- If disapproving of the registration application, the Korea Copyright Commission shall send the applicant a written notice specifying the reason (Article 27-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Copyright Act).
- If the registration application has been disapproved, the applicant may file an objection to the Korea Copyright Commission within a month after the disapproval date (Article 55(3) of the Copyright Act).
- Any person intending to file an objection shall attach the documents specified under each of following subparagraphs on the statement of objection and submit it to the Korea Copyright Commission (Article 27-3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Copyright Act and Article 6-3 and Appendix Form No. 20-2 of the Enforcement Rules of the Copyright Act).
1. Documents identifying the applicant,
2. Documents verifying the person as the applicant’s representative (only if the objection has been filed by the applicant’s representative), or
3. Data verifying the reason of objection (applicable only if the relevant data is attached).
- The Korea Copyright Commission shall review the filed objection within a month after receiving it and notify the applicant of the results (Article 55(4) of the Copyright Act).
- If withdrawing or dismissing the filed objection, the Korea Copyright Commission shall notify the applicant that he/she may file for an administrative trial or litigation along with the results (Article 55(5) of the Copyright Act).
Effectiveness of the Registered Copyright- The applicant shall be the creator if registering the copyright in his/her real name. Suppose the created work is registered with a creation date or the initial publication date. In this case, it shall be assumed that the work has been created on the creation date or published on the initial publication date. However, suppose the creation date has been registered a year after the work has been created. In this case, the work shall not be assumed to have been produced on the registered creation date (Article 53(3) of the Copyright Act).