Case Analysis / Legal Updates

Copyright Infringement Lawsuit | Judgment Awarding KRW 3 Million in Damages in a Copyright Infringement Lawsuit over Plagiarism of a Play Script

2026.02.06김국일

The defendant in the copyright infringement lawsuit partially revised the plaintiff's play script and then staged a performance as his own creative work, and the court recognized the copyright infringement and issued an order for damages and an injunction against the performance.

1. Copyright Infringement Lawsuit, the Detailed Circumstances

A, the plaintiff who filed the copyright infringement lawsuit, is the copyright holder of a play script depicting the conflict between a father with dementia and his family (hereinafter the "plaintiff's script"). B, the defendant, first prepared a synopsis* based on this theme and then asked the plaintiff to write part of the script.

In response, the plaintiff provided the defendant with the completed script, and the defendant revised and adapted it and staged a performance as his own play script (hereinafter the "defendant's script").

The plaintiff filed the copyright infringement lawsuit, arguing that the defendant had reproduced and used the creative elements of the plaintiff's script without authorization. The plaintiff argued that the defendant's script shared many similarities with the plaintiff's script in its characters, plot, and dialogue, and that this amounted to an unauthorized reproduction of creative expression.

The plaintiff further argued that the defendant had infringed, among the plaintiff's author's economic rights, the reproduction right, the performance right, and the right to prepare derivative works (the right to prepare derivative works), and that the defendant should therefore pay as damages approximately KRW 29 million, equal to 20% of the revenue obtained from the performance.

The plaintiff also requested that, because the defendant's performance constituted copyright infringement, the performance be stopped, and the plaintiff further sought cancellation of the defendant's copyright registration.

*Synopsis: a brief summary outlining the overall storyline of a work in a play, film, drama, and the like

Copyright Infringement Lawsuit, the Applicable Laws

Copyright refers to the exclusive and proprietary rights that an author holds in a work. Works come in various types, including poems, novels, music, art, films, plays, and computer programs. The author holds all rights in such works.

🔗A copyright lawsuit is a lawsuit filed when a copyright has been infringed.

In civil litigation, the following may be claimed.

① A claim for damages for pecuniary loss

The amount of profit that the infringing party gained through the infringing act is treated as the amount of loss. In this case, in lieu of the amount of loss, damages may be claimed within a limit of KRW 10 million for each infringed work (KRW 50 million where the right was infringed for profit).

② Consolation money for non-pecuniary loss

If it is determined that non-pecuniary loss has been suffered due to infringement of the author's moral rights or that restoration of reputation is necessary, corresponding consolation money may be claimed.

The penalties imposed in criminal proceedings are as follows.

Where the author's economic rights or other rights are infringed	Imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to KRW 50 million
Where the author's moral rights are infringed so as to damage the author's reputation, or where a false registration is made	Imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to KRW 30 million

2. Copyright Infringement Lawsuit, the Court's Determination

The court that heard the copyright infringement lawsuit rendered a partial favorable judgment for the plaintiff.

Based on the results of an expert appraisal commissioned to the Korea Copyright Commission, the court found that the two scripts shared many similarities in their theme, main characters, and method of development. However, recognizing that new events and settings had been added and that there were structural differences, the court found that the defendant's script was not a mere reproduction of the plaintiff's script but rather a derivative work that added new creativity.

Accordingly, the plaintiff's claims of infringement of the reproduction right and the performance right were dismissed, but infringement of the right to prepare derivative works was recognized. In addition, because the defendant had staged the performance without indicating the plaintiff as the original author, infringement of the right of attribution was recognized, and the defendant was ordered to pay KRW 3 million in damages for non-pecuniary loss.

However, based on the law that a derivative work may also be registered for copyright, the plaintiff's other claim, the claim for cancellation of the copyright registration, was dismissed.

3. Copyright Infringement Lawsuit, Daeryun's Strategy

In the copyright infringement lawsuit, we analyzed the District Court's judgment, which recognized the creativity of the defendant's derivative work yet ordered payment of KRW 3 million in damages on the basis of infringement of the plaintiff's right of attribution.

The Daeryun Law Firm LLP 🔗Intellectual Property Group, drawing on its practical experience, provides comprehensive solutions relating to intellectual property rights across various domestic and international industries, including copyright, patent rights, trademark rights, design rights, unlawful acts involving unfair competition and trade secrets, and proceedings before the Fair Trade Commission and the Trade Commission.

If you are preparing a lawsuit to protect intellectual property rights or wish to defend against one, you are welcome to reach out to Daeryun Law Firm at any time.