한-미 FTA 협정이 게임산업과 콘텐츠의 유통에 미치는 영향

The game industry combined with new ideas and Information Technology (IT) can create great value with small facility and investment compared with other cultural industries. Online games are digital products concerning electronic commerce and can be protected as computer programs. It is also regulated within the Korea-U.S. FTA Agreement under the electronic commerce and intellectual property chapters. It is necessary to find out how these regulations could affect the game industry by analyzing the effects and getting prepared for the new outcome. The issue on National Treatment is the basic principles of electronic commerce, thus, will have no direct effect. However, there is a need to observe on a case-by-case basis on whether there is any reverse discrimination regarding national companies. In the field of intellectual property, the recognition of temporary copy itself is expected to contribute to the protection of the game industry. Especially concerning on-line games, which don’t need to be copied through hard disks, the temporary copy would be a restraint to the people who use it without the author’s permission. Regarding the fact that the use of online-games is apt to be more activated and widespread in the future, this will be an important means of protecting intellectual property rights as well as forming a legal market in the game industry. The statutory damages will be effective in regulating the infringement of intellectual property, a field in which the damages is specifically hard to estimate. It is expected that the system itself will bring about the active effort of the on-line service provider who will try to avoid responsibility by the range of immunity of the regulation. Additionally, the clause that allows to inform the infringer’s identity will also be of efficient means to prevent infringement. The Korea-U.S. FTA seems to be a good opportunity in strengthening intellectual property rights. In the process of implementing the Agreement, however the efforts to balance the benefit of the game industry and interest of copyright users is needed.