Copyright offenses soaring

Amid the growing public concern on copyright issues, the number of copyright offenders has soared over the recent years, said the Justice Ministry.

The number of copyright law violators, which was 12,000 back in 2004, rose steeply over the past years to reach 91,000 last year, according to the ministry yesterday.

This year`s figure was 73,000 as of the end of August and is expected to exceed 100,000 by year end, said officials.



"The sudden rise of copyright violations over the recent years is largely due to the illegal file uploading and downloading which is so abundant online," said an official of the National Police Agency.

The sharpest increase was in the group of underage offenders.

The number of teenage copyright offenders, which was a mere 50 in 2004, jumped by 400 times to reach 21,000 last year and some 19,000 had already been caught by August this year, according to officials.

Most offenders, however, were not prosecuted, according to the ministry.

Among the soaring number of cases, only 70 were sent to court for trial and only 29 this year, said officials.

"In the midst of other serious criminal cases, investigators tend to regard copyright violations as minor offenses," said an official of the civic group which requested the ministry for the related data.

Copyright, however, has become a crucial legal topic in international society, he said.

"It may be that our newly reinforced copyright law has stepped too far, or that people`s awareness is falling behind the level of the law," the official said. "Either way, our society needs to focus more on preventing and regulating these growing copyright offenses."

Copyright law, which was revised and effectuated this July, stepped up its regulation on illegal uploads and downloads on the internet, prompting fears people`s freedom of expression may be excessively restricted.

Closely following the law revision, a bootleg copy of the megahit disaster flick "Haeundae" was distributed online this summer, bringing up the copyright issue once again.

(tellme@heraldm.com)



By Bae Hyun-jung