Intellectual property rights are a common concern around the world. Korea, however, is now recognized as the leading example of copyright protection, unlike many other countries including China, Russia, Italy, Spain, and Canada.
Co-hosted by Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and organized by the ICOTEC committee and Korean Federation of Copyrights (KOFOCO), the International Copyright Technology Conference 2011 (ICOTEC 2011) opens at the Grand Ballroom of COEX in Seoul for two days from November 17.
Hosted for the first time in the world, ICOTEC 2011 (www.icotec.or.kr) marks the rise of Korea as a copyright leader, having been eliminated from the Priority Watch List since 2009 after the country first appeared on the list in 1989. Emphasizing Korea's resolution to take the lead in protecting global copyrights, ICOTEC 2011, under the slogan "Copyright First!," is preparing for a variety of programs such as a copyright conference with renowned experts from Korea and elsewhere. The conference showcases 60 copyright technologies while providing a venue to discuss the latest copyright issues including international copyright technology and research, protection policies, and copyright laws.
In an interview with the Korea IT Times, Chung Hong-taek, chairman of the ICOTEC 2011 committee and Korea's first entertainment journalist, said that "the continuous efforts and policies of the government to protect intellectual property rights and the public's cooperation have greatly reduced the violation of legally protected works." He added, "It is an important time for international community to share good copyright technologies," explaining the significance of ICOTEC 2011.
"Korea Software Property-right Council (SPC) has set up Copyright Police after attaining legal authority from Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism," Chairman Jungsaid. "Our main activities include the Clean sites (www.cleansite.org, www.cleancopyright.or.kr), which promote the use of official copy of software, and Illegal Copyright Obstruction Program (ICOP), which tracks down illegal copies via 24-hour monitoring. The world's first automaticcopyright tracking program, ICOP in particular played a vital role in making United States Trade Representative recognize Korea as a leading nation in protecting intellectual property rights."
"Only after four years since we began running the Clean sites and ICOP, the piracy rate in Korea went down to about 20 percent, which is a remarkable achievement. And also, the government's efforts improved the public awareness of intellectual property rights. There are still some users, however, who believe that they are paying for the royalty once they make payment on P2P sites. So we must continue making efforts to raise the users' awareness in the future."
He added, "Intellectual property rights are like lifeline to contents in various industries ranging from publication to music, video, software, art, and game. Such creative activities cannot be sustained without protecting the basic copyrights. But then, overprotecting the copyright can also lead to limiting the access to creativity and knowledge. We need to find a balance between protecting the copyrighted works and preventing abuse of the intellectual property rights.
"I hope ICOTEC 2011 will provide a platform to discuss the use of technologies regarding intellectual property rights and future plans with those who are interested in protecting copyright. Please feel free to come and join us," Chairman Chung concluded.
ICOTEC 2011 is open to anyone interested in intellectual property rights and registration will begin in September on the website: www.icotec.or.kr
