All
| TITLE | Seoul Central District Court Decision 2023Kahap21631 Decided March 14, 2024: Final and Conclusive 【Temporary Injunction to Prohibit the Sale of Publications, Etc】 [full Text] |
|---|---|
| Summary | |
| 【Main Issues and Holdings】 This case concerns A who serialized a comic titled Love is Shaped Like a Puppy on Instagram, uploading up to 87 episodes in which A depicted daily life with a pet dog, B who serialized a story centered on the temporary care and adoption of abandoned pet dogs on a writing platform under a category titled Love is Surely Shaped Like a Puppy, and C who published a book with the title Love is Surely Shaped Like a Puppy through their publishing business. A filed for a temporary injunction against B and C, requesting the prohibition of the use of the title Love is Surely Shaped Like a Puppy and the cessation of the sale and promotion of any books using that title on the grounds that the use of the title by B and C infringed moral rights and the right of distribution concerning the phrase “Love is Shaped Like a Puppy” and constituted an act of unfair competition. A’s claims are dismissed in their entirety because the necessity for preserving the rights concerned has not been demonstrated and thus A’s application for a temporary injunction is without merit considering the following: (i) the phrase in question cannot be concluded to qualify as a “literary work” under Article 4(1)1 of the Copyright Act; (ii) it was not sufficiently demonstrated that the phrase in question has become “widely recognized in the Republic of Korea” as A’s “product mark” as defined in Article 2 subparag. 1(a) of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act; and (iii) it cannot be concluded that the brand value of either the phrase in question or the comic in question qualified as an “outcome achieved by A through substantial investment or efforts” as defined in Article 2 subparag. 1(m) of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act or that B and C used A’s work without permission in violation of fair commercial practices or the order of competition. | |
