저작재산권의 보호기간이 만료된 저작물의 저작인격권에 관한 쟁점

Abstract

Recently, as the copyright protection period of famous characters who have been loved and popular around the world has expired, anyone can use them freely. For example, as the copyright of the character “Winnie-the-Pooh”expired in 2022, a startup film company created a low-budget film called “Winnie-the-Poo: Blood and Honey”, transforming the cute and friendly Pooh into the wild killer bear. As can be seen in this case, even if the first character is changed to the opposite to the extent that it undermines the reputation of the author, it is not possible to claim copyright infringement because the copyright protection period has already expired. However, if malicious distortions or variations that can continue to undermine the author's personal interests after the expiration of the copyright protection period are left unprotected, it may confuse the general public's trust in the character's unique character that the original work has held for more than decades, so it is necessary to consider ways to prevent it.
 Author’s Moral Right is inalienable, and in comparative law, each French and Chinese IP-related Act legislates that moral right is permanently maintained, but Korea does not have such a legislation as to the protection period of moral right.
 In this study, the possibility of civil damages or criminal punishment for moral right infringement after author’s death, especially the current copyright law stipulates offense indictable without complaint in relation to criminal punishment for violations against moral right after author’s death, and it is proposed to revise to delete offense indictable without complaint under the copyright law by comparing it with the crime of defamation of a deceased person under the criminal law.