[2022 National Audit] "Court Permission System Fails to Demonstrate Positive Functions"
Only Sixty-Five Cases Until Last Month... Complex and Unclear Procedures
"Need to Strengthen Disclosure System and Find Ways to Reduce Cost Burden"
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The statutory license system has been found to fail in fulfilling its intended functions. The statutory license system is a scheme under which the copyright holder deposits or pays compensation to the copyright owner with the approval of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to use works whose copyright holders are unclear.
According to the "Status of Use of Works with Unclear Rights through Statutory License" released on the 7th by Lee Sang-heon, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of works used under statutory license was only 81 in 2020 and 178 last year. This year, it remained at 65 cases as of last month.
The low usage frequency is due to the complicated and unclear procedures. The application fee per work is 10,000 KRW. Since the announcement period lasts more than a month, it takes considerable time until approval. The Copyright Commission's "Rights Holder Search Information System," which helps find copyright holders, had only 150,000 visitors last year.
Those who wish to use orphan works must deposit compensation before starting use. However, most of the compensation reverts to the national treasury after the 10-year statute of limitations expires while the rights holders remain unknown.
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Assemblyman Lee argued, "It is only right that the funds be used for the creation of works and the promotion of the cultural industry rather than reverting to the national treasury." He added, "We need to introduce an orphan works registry system to strengthen the statutory license disclosure system and prepare measures to reduce the hassle and cost burden of applications when using works in large quantities."
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