Copyright Act Crime Requiring a Complaint to Prosecute | Settlement Handled on Behalf of the Client Resulting in a Non-Referral Decision

The client, who said they needed a consultation regarding the crime requiring a complaint to prosecute under the Copyright Act, was a university student attending a local private university who was also working a night part-time job to cover tuition and living expenses on their own.

The client split and scanned a textbook required for a compulsory major course and made it into a PDF file.

The client says that, on impulse, they came to think that if students in the same department wanted the file, selling it for a fee might help cover living expenses.

The client then posted a listing to sell the textbook PDF on a secondhand trading platform, and sold the file several times at a rate of 80,000 won per copy.

Not long afterward, the publisher of the textbook filed a criminal complaint against the client for violation of the Copyright Act (reproduction, distribution, and transmission).

With the desperate wish to conclude the case without punishment, the client came to our firm's copyright attorney.

🔗Copyright is the right that a creator holds with respect to their own work, and it is divided into author's economic rights (such as reproduction, distribution, public transmission, rental, and creation of derivative works) and author's moral rights (such as the right of attribution and the right to maintain integrity).

The Copyright Act was established to protect these rights and to promote the sound development of the cultural industry.

The conduct at issue in this matter was reproduction, namely scanning a paper book to make it into a digital file (PDF), and distribution and public transmission, namely selling that file to purchasers.

If such conduct is carried out without the prior permission of the copyright holder, it may be found to constitute copyright infringement and may be punished.

In a crime requiring a complaint to prosecute, the victim's intent regarding punishment is a condition for prosecution.

If a settlement fails, the complaint is maintained and the investigation may proceed to the indictment stage, whereas if a settlement succeeds, the investigating authority may, through the victim's withdrawal of the complaint, issue a non-referral decision and conclude the case.

As soon as the settlement was reached, the copyright attorney submitted the settlement agreement and a statement of no desire for punishment to the police, and the police issued a non-referral (rejection) decision on the ground that the condition for prosecution of the crime requiring a complaint to prosecute under the Copyright Act had been extinguished.

As a result, the client was able to conclude the case before the police investigation and to continue their studies.

A crime requiring a complaint to prosecute under the Copyright Act is a crime for which even an actual custodial sentence may be imposed if a settlement is not reached.

Even where a settlement has been reached, if the settlement agreement does not include language stating that no further criminal or civil claims will be raised, one may again become entangled in a legal dispute despite having paid a settlement amount.

For this reason, if you are at risk of punishment for a crime requiring a complaint to prosecute under the Copyright Act, it is advisable to request assistance from a copyright attorney regarding handling the settlement and preparing a response strategy.

Our firm responds to cases through the collaboration of copyright attorneys, criminal law attorneys, and patent attorneys with high expertise in copyright.

If, like the client in this case, you are under suspicion of violating the Copyright Act, please proceed with a 🔗legal consultation booking.