Korean Content Creators to get fairer contracts

[Ojisama]

The Korean Fair Trade Commission has ordered 23 Companies that provide Webtoon and Web Novel content to revise their contracts with the artists/creators of the works they are distributing. The Commission reviewed 141 contract templates, and found 1112 unfair terms and conditions.
 

• Unauthorized Derivative Works: 17 companies, including Daewon C.I. and Millie's Library, were found to have contract clauses claiming full rights to create derivative works without explicit consent from the original creators—an act that violates Korean copyright law, which requires permission from the original author.
  

• Broad Copyright Transfers: 12 companies, including RIDI, were found including clauses that transferred all derivative rights to the content provider, even when those works had not yet been conceived.
  

• Third-Party Usage Without Consent: 11 companies, including DCC ENT, allowed third-party usage or transfer of rights without the author's permission.
  

• Unrelated Rights and Priority Use: 8 companies, including Munpia, inserted clauses demanding unrelated rights or priority rights for secondary usage—even when the rights had nothing to do with the initial contract.
  

• Author Liability for All Disputes: 21 companies, including YLAB, used language holding authors fully liable for any and all legal or financial disputes, regardless of fault.
  

• Restrictions on Author Name and Content Alterations: 13 companies, including SomyMedia, included terms preventing authors from asserting name attribution or allowed the company to modify the work without the author's consent.
  

• Forced Co-Copyright Registration: 8 companies, including Haksan Publishing, claimed co-copyright status even if they had not contributed to the creative process.
  

• Automatic Contract Extensions: 7 companies, including Golem Factory, included automatic renewal clauses unless the author gave prior notice of termination — shifting the burden unfairly to the author.
  

• Use of Works After Contract Expiry: 14 companies, including Seoul Media Comics, were found to retain rights to use the work or its derivatives even after contract termination.
  

• One-Sided Termination Clauses: 13 companies, including Jaedam Media, included vague terms like “if deemed inappropriate” to justify unilateral contract termination without providing a chance for authors to defend themselves.
  

Source - ANN


 

[Ojisama]

South Korea's Ministry for Culture, Sports & Tourism has announced that a guidebook will be available to interpret the standard contract used in the comics and webtoon industry.

The standard contract, revised in June 2024, includes key protections for webtoon creators. Notably, it guarantees two rest weeks for every 50 episodes serialized and mandates that webtoon platforms provide creators with transparent revenue statements.

The upcoming guidebook will offer explanations of the standard contract's core terms, instructions on how to apply it, and guidance on drafting fair agreements. It will also outline best practices, common red flags in unfair contracts, and how creators can respond to copyright violations.