웹캐스팅(Webcasting)의 저작권법상의 지위와 국제동향 및 디지털융합(Digital Convergence)시대의 법적 대응

The advent of ‘Digital Convergence’ has been brought about by the development of the broad-band IP network accompanied by a high degree of digitization. ‘Webcasting’is at the very center of the Digital Convergence issue, for it is a hybrid media between cable and internet broadcasting and over-the-air broadcast signal transmission. The peculiarly obscure status of webcasting in current copyright law needs to be reorganized within the legal structure regarding broadcasting and broadcast organizations which have been granted preferential treatment as a predominant conveyer of copyrighted content. Internationally, on the other hand, negotiating parties in the ‘WIPO Treaty on The Protection of Broadcasting Organization’ discussed protection of webcasting the same as normal broadcasting organization, but the negotiation is at a standstill because of conflicting state interests between the parties. In the Digital Convergence era, after all, it would be hardly possible to control and regulate media by regulation using technical standards, because it will provide its service based on the Internet Network Protocol so that all media will have identical technical characteristics. Moreover new media, totally distinctive from existing media, is expected to be produced after the realization of a ubiquitous environment. Therefore new standards, such as function and contents-oriented standards, are needed to regulate these new media, including webcasting, while technology-oriented standards are losing their usefulness.