earticle

영어

For the protection of copyrights in the internet ages, the WIPO convened a diplomatic conference in Geneva and produced the WIPO Copyright Treaty(WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty(WPPT) in 1996. The new features of the WCT included, amongst others, Right of Communication to the Public, Obligations concerning Technological Measures and Obligations concerning Rights Management Information. Korea has been implementing main features of the WCT in its Copyright Act and Computer Program Protection Act, either voluntarily or by the pressure of the United States, even before the ratification of the treaty. Last September, Korean Government decided to ratify WCT in the near future. This paper examined main features of the WIPO Copyright Treaty, Korea's internal procedure for the ratification, and implication of ratifying the treaty on Korean copyright laws. Considering the current situation of US concerns over Korean protection of copyrights, enactment of temporary copies and access control in Copyright Act and Computer Program Protection Act might be crucial controversies between the two countries. After examining the notions of temporary copies and access control, this paper discusses the relevant provisions of the WCT, the implementation of those provisions in other countries and possibility of their enactment in Korean laws. Finally, in the long term view, the possible inclusion of the WCT into the WTO TRIPs Agreement is discussed.