earticle

영어

Article 13 of the WTO TRIPs Agreement stipulates that WTO Members shall confine limitations and exceptions to exclusive rights to certain special cases which do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the copyright holder. Through the interpretation of Berne Convention and the US Copyright Act Case of the WTO, the three- step test has become a cornerstone to the interpretation and domestic legislations on copyright limitations and exceptions. The three-step test was also adopted in the new internet treaties, WCT and WPPT in 1996. Based on recent developments, this paper analyzed necessary elements for the three-step test, and furthermore examined how the test was reflected in domestic legislations of various countries on copyright limitations and exceptions. After finalizing the KORUS FTA, Korean government submitted proposed amendment bills to Copyright Act and Computer Program Protection Act for the preparation of FTA implementation. Both bills included new comprehensive copyright limitation clauses which are the reflection of Article 13 of the WTO TRIPs Agreement and Section 107 of the US Copyright Act. To balance the strengthened copyright holder’s right by the KORUS FTA and the weakened right of copyright users, the reasonable role of the Korean domestic courts in interpretation of those clauses has become a crucially important matter. It remains to be seen how the courts will act wisely on the new copyright environment.