If I knowingly possess illegal reproductions, can I be punished for copyright infringement?

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For business reasons, all my money is tied up in the company, and I really don't have a single penny I can use personally. Even in this case, taxes amount to hundreds or thousands, and if I don't pay, is there a possibility of criminal punishment like tax evasion? I didn't intentionally not pay, so it feels unfair to face criminal punishment under the Punishment of Tax Offenses Act. Can I try to negotiate by saying I had no intent to evade and ask for payment deferral?

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作者: 박동일

If you simply possess them, you will not be punished.

For copyright infringement to be established, you must actually use the work in ways such as reproduction, performance, public transmission, exhibition, distribution, lending, or creating derivative works.

Therefore, simply possessing illegal reproductions alone does not result in punishment for copyright infringement.

In addition, when reproducing and using directly within a limited scope such as at home without commercial purposes, the Copyright Act recognizes this as reproduction for private use.

However, the crime of possessing illegal reproductions is established only when the possessor knows that the reproduction is illegal and has the purpose of distribution.

Therefore, if there is no purpose of distribution or you did not know it was illegal, you will not be punished.

However, caution is needed if intent to distribute or share is included, and for accurate judgment, it is safe to consult with a criminal specialist attorney.

For detailed information related to copyright infringement, please check through consultation.