CONTENTS
- 1. The Client Who Came to the Changwon Criminal Attorney
- - The Circumstances of the Case Ascertained by the Changwon Criminal Attorney
- - The Copyright Act Explained by the Changwon Criminal Attorney
- 2. The Changwon Criminal Attorney's Assistance in Defending Against Punishment
- - The Changwon Criminal Attorney: The Client's Remorse
- - The Changwon Criminal Attorney: The Extent of the Victim's Harm
- 3. The Result of the Changwon Criminal Attorney's Assistance: The Client Received a ‘Suspended Sentence’
1. The Client Who Came to the Changwon Criminal Attorney
For a consultation with the Changwon criminal attorney, 🔗Daeryun's Changwon office, the visiting client was running an academy in Changwon. The client had uploaded to the internet problems taken without authorization from another site in order to prepare students for examinations, and was thereby in violation of the Copyright Act.
The Circumstances of the Case Ascertained by the Changwon Criminal Attorney
The Changwon criminal attorney ascertained the detailed circumstances of the client's case.
The client was the director running a professional academy,
In order to prepare students for examinations, he scanned the textbooks and problems of another academy posted on the internet to create reproduced files, and posted these on the internet site of the client's academy.
The other academy that discovered this reported the client for copyright infringement.
The client requested Daeryun's assistance, asking only to be spared an actual custodial sentence.
The Copyright Act Explained by the Changwon Criminal Attorney
The Changwon criminal attorney explained the Copyright Act that could apply to the client.
🔗Copyright refers to the right held by the author who created a ‘work’ such as a poem, novel, music, art, film, play, or computer program. Like real property, it can be sold, inherited, and also leased.
The law that protects this is precisely the Copyright Act.
Not everyone who creates a work can receive the protection of the Copyright Act. The types of protected works are as follows.
- Literary works: poems, novels, essays, scripts, theses, etc.
- Musical works: works expressed through sound, including songs directly performed or sung
- Dramatic works: plays, dance, musicals, etc.
- Artistic works: paintings, designs, calligraphy, sculpture, crafts, etc.
- Architectural works: buildings, models for architecture, design drawings, etc.
- Photographic works: works expressed by photographic means
- Cinematographic works: films, advertisements, video game footage, etc.
- Diagrammatic works: maps, charts, sketches, models, etc.
- Computer program works: works expressed as a series of instructions or commands used directly or indirectly within a computer
- Compilation works: compilations whose selection, arrangement, or composition of materials has creativity
A violation of the Copyright Act results in the following criminal punishment.
Where intellectual property rights or other rights are infringed | Imprisonment with labor for not more than five years or a fine not exceeding 50 million won |
Where moral rights are infringed so as to damage the author's reputation, or a false registration is made | Imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or a fine not exceeding 30 million won |
2. The Changwon Criminal Attorney's Assistance in Defending Against Punishment
Because there was clear evidence that the client had reproduced without authorization problems created by another academy and posted them on the internet, the Changwon criminal attorney concluded that, rather than denying the charges, it was necessary to enable the client to obtain a reduction of sentence.
The attorney then argued the following to the court and pleaded for leniency.
The Changwon Criminal Attorney: The Client's Remorse
From the police investigation stage, the client fully admitted his wrongdoing and was spending time deeply reflecting on and repenting for the offense.
The attorney also argued that the client had at least monetarily made up for the harm suffered by the victim, and that, after reaching a settlement, the victim stated that they did not wish for the client to be punished.
The Changwon Criminal Attorney: The Extent of the Victim's Harm
The attorney argued that the client's copyright infringement took place in a limited space, namely an internet cafe that only the client's academy students could join, and that it was not a widespread infringement such as distributing the victim's work to an unspecified large number of people.
3. The Result of the Changwon Criminal Attorney's Assistance: The Client Received a ‘Suspended Sentence’
As a result of the Changwon criminal attorney's assistance in the client's criminal trial, the client, who had been subject to a complaint under the Copyright Act, defended against an actual custodial sentence with a ‘suspended sentence’.
🔗If you have been subject to a criminal complaint for copyright infringement you may obtain a reduction of sentence by emphasizing the following matters.
- There was no intent to infringe copyright
- The conduct was stopped immediately upon learning that copyright was being infringed
- There was no commercial purpose
However, since all of these points must be proven by clear evidence, we recommend retaining a specialist attorney.
Daeryun Law Firm (LLC) can provide assistance to obtain a reduction of sentence for a client subject to a criminal complaint under the Copyright Act, so please request a legal consultation at any time.
This content is based on actual case studies of Daeryun Law LLC with some adaptations, and the copyright belongs to our firm.
Unauthorized reproduction, duplication, or distribution and other copyright infringements may result in legal action under applicable laws.
