Please tell me the representative examples of copyright infringement cases.

Hello. This is a copyright attorney at Daeryun Law LLC. I see that you have asked about examples of copyright infringement cases.

Under Article 30 of the Copyright Act, it is expressly provided that using a published work for non-commercial purposes, either personally or within a limited scope, does not constitute copyright infringement.

However, if such a work is distributed or used by means such as public performance or public transmission, copyright infringement may be established.

Put simply, copying part of a book in a library for study purposes may be permitted, but copying it and distributing it to others may amount to a copyright infringement case.

In addition, not all personal use is permitted.

The Supreme Court held that “where a user was aware, even conditionally, that the work infringed copyright, that use is not lawful.” (Seoul Central District Court, Decision of August 5, 2008, 2008Kahap968)

Therefore, even if you downloaded an illegal movie file and used it only for personal purposes, if you knew that the file infringed copyright, it may amount to a violation of the Copyright Act.

Meanwhile, Article 124 of the Copyright Act sets out acts that are deemed to constitute copyright infringement.

First, there is the importation of copyright-infringing goods.

Importing, for the purpose of distribution within the Republic of Korea, goods that would constitute copyright infringement may be regarded as copyright infringement.

Second, there is the possession and distribution of copyright-infringing goods.

If a person possesses goods for the purpose of distribution while being aware that they were made in infringement of copyright, this is judged to be an act of copyright infringement.

Finally, there is the use of illegal programs for business.

Using an illegally copied program for company work while knowing that it was illegally copied constitutes copyright infringement.

As such, if you infringe copyright by means such as reproduction, public performance, or public transmission, you may be subject to imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won, so you should be especially careful in your use of works.