웹툰 작가의 저작권 보호를 위한 사례 분석 연구

The Korean webtoon industry surpassed 1 trillion won in annual sales for the first time in 2020. Despite the increasing expected rate of return on webtoon copyrights due to the explosive growth of the webtoon market, it is in fact showing a low profit rate. While there are several problems for this, the factors that had the greatest impact on low profitability may be “illegal websites for unauthorized webtoons thefts” and their users. The problem is that some small webtoon artists will not be able to receive the minimum wage for the unreasonably demanding creative activities that require an average of 6 days a week and more than 10 hours a day of work, if they do not earn additional income through paid services. Accordingly, if illegal distribution websites illegally provide copyrighted webtoons and the artist’s income decreases, the artist may not be able to overcome the hardships of living and find a side job or give up working as a webtoon artist. Therefore, continued creative activities are possible only if there is an effective remedy for illegal upload of one’s work to unauthorized websites, which will help protect the foundation of the copyright system and the competitiveness of Korea’s cultural industry, which is aiming to become an intellectual property powerhouse. With this awareness of the problem, this study seeks to consider effective solutions to copyright infringement caused by the increasing number of illicit sharing sites. To do so, the study will examine the legal measures (general remedies) that webtoon artists can take against illegal sites that infringe their copyrights, preventive remedies, and their limitations. In addition, it is necessary to find whether the structure of the ‘webtoon market’ is the cause of website managers and users’ illegal acts and to seek the possibility of improvement. For conclusion, this study will present an effective solution along with a proposal for the change and necessity of the webtoon market in terms of economy.