저작재산권의 보호기간에 관한 고찰

Copyright in a work accrues at the moment of its creation (Art. 10(2)), and unless otherwise provided in the Korean Copyright Act, it subsists for the life of the author and fifty years after his death (in the case of a joint work, after the death of the last surviving author) (Art. 39(1)(2)). In short, the term of the copyright is for the life of the author plus fifty years. The Act also establish special terms of protection for such works as anonymous and pseudonymous works, works made for hire and cinematographic works, and in particular as regards serial publications (namely, periodical works, works to be published in installment). As above, the Act protects copyrights for a given period of time. The reason for this limitation of period is to encourage to protected works. In consequence, what is important is to understand systematically from Art. 39 to Art. 44. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the term of copyright protection.