I do not know how to show the videos for this long blog.
But if you do not mind, go to link below and view two videos and compare it before you move on the report.
Sources:
Video2:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJIH1ail1no
Video1:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEn5WKm-AAY
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2009/07/123_48856.html
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2009/07/129_49084.html
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/296787.html
http://www.komca.or.kr/eng2/tariffs.htm
http://www.komca.or.kr/eng2/distribution.htm
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/05/07/eu-kills-3-strikes-i.html#previouspost
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_Full
Your five-year-old niece listens a popular song at home. Her gig is so cute, so you pick up your iPod touch to record her one-minute performance. You upload the clip on your own blog to share it with your friends and relatives.
This seemingly benign act, however, is in violation of the Korean copyright law. No kidding. Last month, there was an actual incident in which a video clip showing a five-year-old kid singing Son Dam-bi’s “Crazy” — for 58 seconds, to be exact — was uploaded on a blog run by Naver.com, and the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) asked the country’s biggest portal to block public access to the video clip.
Online users cite the case as a striking example that foresees what would come once the revised copyright law goes into effect todays. Although the government authorities and copyright associations try to reassure Korean online users that no drastic development will happen, anxiety is spreading far and wide across the local cyberspace.
KOMCA recently released a statement describing its position about the sorry incident surrounding the innocent girl, but it emphasized that even under the existing law it’s illegal to upload a video clip containing lyrics or music performances on blogs or online communities, unless the person in question gets a formal permission from all the copyright holders.
The revised copyright law also explicitly bans people from capturing footage of a film or TV drama. There are now countless blog postings which contain such captured images from movies and TV dramas, so a growing number of bloggers are cleaning up their personal writings, screening out potential materials that would invite legal disputes.
At the same time, some bloggers and community operators are abandoning Korean services in order to avoid lawsuits and seek freer cyberspace. This “cyber exile” phenomenon underscores the deepening distrust of Korean users about the new copyright law, which is allegedly designed to protect copyright holders only, while disregarding the right of ordinary users, as evidenced by the Son Dam-bi song’s use by a kid.
Under the revised rules, the Culture Ministry can shut down an online community or service in connection with copyright violations, even without the complaint from copyright holders. When the user or bulletin board gets the shut-down order three times, the ministry can shut down the services in question for up to six months under a three-strike-out system killed in EU already.
The so-called “heavy uploader,” who habitually puts illegal material on cyber communities, will be subject to the same three-strike-out system.
But what ordinary bloggers fear the most is the threat from law firms. A host of Korean law firms are currently representing copyright holders in the fields of music, images, and video, and they often send an email to users, asking them to pay a settlement fee in return for dropping the lawsuit.
Recently, I saw the news, a local law firm threatened to file a suit against 8,047 users on the charge of copyright violations, and earned 7 billion won in settlement fees, a tactic that turned out to be illegal. Experts said if such threat comes from a law firm, users should not opt for a settlement and instead seek consultations with the related authorities.
To relieve the anxiety, some copyright holders are venturing out to open up their content for free. A popular Web cartoonist Kang Full said he will allow his online comic strips to be freely circulated in blogs and cyber communities.
Indeed, I think the revised copyright law should target heavy uploaders and companies which take huge profits out of pirated materials, brushing aside growing concerns about the negative impact on freedom of expression on the internet.
To ensure freedom of expression, a fair use act should propose at the internet place and the standing committee is reviewing the proposed revision that would allow people to use copyrighted materials without any formal permission when they make non-commercial material such as online UCC (user-created content). Also we should not too complacent about the fact that this unfair new law violates due process and a whole raft of basic principles of the Korea constitution, and is therefore, reconsidered.
However, we need to think about this copyright law with its initial thought as well. For instance, plenty of unfair laws in the Korea and other countries violate basic due process guarantees and fundamental rights enumerated in our constitution, and they’re still on the books and getting enforced every day. Asset forfeiture in the Korea is a gross violation of due process, but it’s being used constantly and expanding like crazy. The KCC (Korea Copyright Commission) violates due process but it’s in effect and being abused at an accelerating rate.
Mere accusation of a wide variety of crimes today in Korea is sufficient for massive sanctions, including kidnapping without charges or trial confiscation of all your property (asset forfeiture), home invasion (accusation of being a “terrorist” for planning a peaceful political protest) and so on.
The mere fact that these laws are grossly unconstitutional under Korean law doesn’t seem to stop law enforcement agencies from using and abusing them in Korea . Why should it stop law enforcement agencies and other muggers with badges in Korea?
In conclusion, I remembered in several months ago that a famous social networking company in Korea has been alerting its users to the new law, notifying them that not only is the sharing of copyright songs, movies and TV shows illegal, but also the use of any copyrighted images or videos. Any of these could earn the infringer a strike. Any homemade videos that contain copyrighted music in the background are also banned and will also get you a strike. and for song lyrics, and excerpts from books.
We shall know shortly if the copyright industries behave responsibly with their new found power or if they choose to use it as a weapon of mass disconnection. Either way, South Korea’s adorable broadband position is hardly likely to benefit from the legislation.
