SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Heejun Choi, Kyoung-Ho Kim, Sungsok Yang, Eunjee Kim and Kwang-Chun Park, Dentons Lee
Copyright owners may enforce their rights through civil proceedings. Available remedies include: • injunctions; • destruction of infringing copies or materials; • damages; and • provisional relief, including preliminary injunctions. Damages may be assessed by reference to the infringer’s profits, a reasonable licence fee or another amount determined by the court where precise proof is difficult. Intentional copyright infringement may also result in criminal liability, although certain offences require a complaint by the rights holder. In cross-border dis - putes, Korea generally applies the law of the country for which protection is sought, consistent with the Berne Convention. Accordingly, copyright protection in Korea arises automatically upon creation, provides long-term pro - tection for original works and is enforceable through civil and criminal remedies. 7.5 Others Korean law also protects other forms of intellectual property and commercially valuable information, including software, databases, data assets and trade secrets. Software is generally protected as a computer pro - gram under the Korean Copyright Act. Protection arises automatically upon creation, without registra - tion and extends to the program’s creative expres - sion, not its underlying ideas, algorithms or functional concepts. Software owners may seek injunctions, damages and, where appropriate, criminal remedies. Technical protection measures are also protected and unauthorised circumvention may give rise to liability. Databases are protected under the Copyright Act where data or materials are systematically organised for access or search. In addition to copyright protec - tion, Korea recognises a database producer’s right that protects substantial investment in collecting, verifying or presenting database content. Protection
generally lasts five years from completion, with a new term available for substantial updates. Certain commercially valuable data assets are also protected under the Data Industry Promotion and Uti - lisation Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act. Unauthorised acquisition, use or disclosure of data created through substantial investment may be prohibited where contrary to fair commercial practices or competitive order. Trade secrets are protected under the Unfair Compe - tition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act. A trade secret is technical or business information that is not publicly known, has independent economic value and is subject to reasonable secrecy management. Protection continues as long as these requirements are satisfied. Trade secret owners may seek injunctions, removal of infringing materials and damages. Serious misap - propriation may also result in criminal liability, particu - larly where trade secrets are acquired, used or dis - closed for improper benefit or to harm the owner, with enhanced sanctions for overseas disclosure or use. Companies should maintain appropriate confidential - ity measures, including access controls, confidential - ity markings, non-disclosure agreements, exit proce - dures, IT security controls and contractual restrictions. Accordingly, Korean law primarily protects software and databases through copyright and related statu - tory rights, while trade secrets and certain data assets are protected under unfair competition and trade secret legislation, subject to applicable statutory requirements.
8. Data Protection 8.1 Applicable Regulations
Korea’s data protection regime is centred on the Per - sonal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”), the principal statute governing the processing and protection of personal information. PIPA applies broadly to public institutions, companies organisations and individuals
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