환경설정파일의 저작물성 판단에 관한 고찰 - 대법원 2014.10.22.자 2012마1724 결정을 중심으로 -

Article 2, section 16 of the Copyright Act provides that the term “computer program work” means a creation expressed in a series of instructions and orders which are directly or indirectly applied within devices(hereinafter referred to as “computer”) having a capability of information processing, such as a computer, in order to obtain specific results. Recently Supreme Court Decision 2012Ma1724(hereinafter referred to as “the subject decision”) decided that ECO_RFID.INI file(hereinafter referred to as “the subject file”), which is a configuration file, only include recorded data to be accepted and settled for initialization, and the subject file is not a computer program work protected in the Copyright Act since there are not instructions and orders of the subject file in the process of accepting and settling data like that. In case configuration is not done by user-interface but is done by a separate file, such as a configuration file, in which data for operation of a computer program is read, the configuration file can't be regarded as leading to obtain specific results by a series of instructions and orders which are directly or indirectly applied within a computer. In conclusion, I think that the subject decision was proper and since the subject decision was the first decision of Supreme Court on determining whether a configuration file falls under a work, the subject decision is significant for the relation between a configuration file and a work.