디지털콘텐츠 이용자보호제도의 비교법적 고찰

Contracts governing the provision and use of services related to the distribution of digital content contain many clauses that may cause conflicts between users and content providers. The protection of digital content users is rapidly gaining attention as the amount of digital content is increasing, not only in domestic trade but also in international trade and global services. Unlike conventional products, the quality and content of digital products cannot be verified with the naked eye at the time of sale. In addition, digital products are characterized by intangible rights of use,which permit use for a certain period but do not transfer ownership,thereby preventing the digital products from being freely distributed and used. Due to these characteristics, the international trade and overseas provision of digital content can be subjected to international conflicts. In particular, Korean companies experience conflicts with overseas users in, for example, the USA, China, and Japan when they provide digital content without fully studying the systems for protecting digital content users in those countries. In addition, characteristics of contracts of use,which are entered into rapidly without restriction in time and location and without face-to-face meetings, may cause problems, such as the withdrawal of subscriptions, cancellation of contracts, and associated return of content, and user protection may be issued in the case where a user has made an input error. Accordingly, this article has been prepared in order to contribute to the development of the digital content industry and stimulate content creators in Korea by preventing such problems and conflicts. This article examines and analyzes user protection systems in the USA and Japan and compares these protection systems, along with the digital contentindustry promotion laws and the digital content user protection guides to find differences and similarities, thereby presenting measures for improving digital content user protection in consideration of global standardization.