Frequent College Textbook Binding and Scanning... Government to Encourage Shift in Awareness

'Distribution of "Essential Copyright Knowledge Guide"
Focus on Precautions and Legal Responsibilities Explained'

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Copyright Protection Agency announced on the 16th that they will distribute copyright protection guidelines for university students to universities and other institutions. The material is titled 'Essential Copyright Knowledge for University Students.'

Jung Hyang-mi, Director of the Copyright Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "Changing the awareness of university students, who are the future owners of K-content, is the beginning of copyright protection," adding, "We hope that these guidelines will establish awareness of copyright protection and resolve issues related to illegal copying."

Recently, illegal copying by university students has reached a serious level. With the advancement of digital technology, unauthorized transmission and public broadcasting of works have become easier, leading to frequent cases of binding and scanning university textbooks for use.

The publishing industry even demanded countermeasures from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 14th of last month. At that time, Minister Yoo In-chon promised, "We will improve university students' awareness of copyright and actively respond to the problem of illegal copying."

'Essential Copyright Knowledge for University Students' is the first outcome prepared in response to this shared concern. It was created with a focus on helping university students understand the concept of copyright and raise awareness of copyright protection.

The content mainly covers precautions and legal responsibilities regarding the use of online lecture materials, referencing materials for school projects or reports, sharing images and videos through social networking services (SNS) or blogs, and unauthorized filming of movies and performances.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official expressed hope that "this will help university students review and prevent common copyright infringement cases that occur frequently in their school and daily lives."