We all watch movies and dramas. Whether it’s a lot or a little, it’s rare to find someone who doesn’t. I, too, often find myself watching films and series, and sometimes, they spark a lot of thought. It might be the theme the creators are conveying, or perhaps a single scene or line of dialogue that resonates deeply. This led me to consider organizing these thoughts into a blog. Naturally, this brought me to the topic of copyright, because when discussing movies and dramas, plot summaries are almost always involved. So, I looked into what happens when you post movie or drama synopses on a blog.
Understanding Copyright for Audiovisual Works
Under copyright law, a “work” refers to an original creation that expresses human thoughts or emotions. Any creative expression, regardless of its form, can be protected as a work. Movies and dramas, as creative works consisting of continuous visual recordings that can be played or viewed through mechanical or electronic devices, fall under the category of “audiovisual works” and are protected by copyright law. Unauthorized use can lead to legal liability. It’s worth noting that copyright generally lasts for the author’s lifetime plus 70 years, and for corporate works, it’s protected for 70 years from the date of publication.
The Idea-Expression Dichotomy: A Key Principle
Copyright law does not protect ideas themselves, but only the “form of expression” in which those ideas are concretely articulated. This is known as the “idea-expression dichotomy.” This principle is crucial when determining copyright infringement when posting movie or drama synopses on a blog.
Copyright is broadly divided into moral rights (rights to publicize, to indicate one’s name, and to maintain integrity), which protect the author’s personality, and economic rights, which protect their financial interests. When blogging movie or drama synopses, the following economic rights are primarily at issue:
- Right of Reproduction: This is the right to reproduce a work. Transcribing a synopsis into text for your blog could potentially infringe upon this right.
- Right of Distribution (Right of Transmission): This is the right to provide the original or copies of a work to the public. Posting content on a blog, making it accessible to an unspecified number of people, could lead to infringement of the right of distribution (transmission).
- Right to Create Derivative Works: This is the right to create new works (derivative works) by translating, arranging, transforming, or adapting the original work. An example would be adapting a webtoon into a video. If a detailed summary of a movie or drama’s plot significantly substitutes the demand for the original work, it could be considered an infringement of the right to create derivative works.
Legal Implications and Real-World Scenarios
Understanding these copyright laws makes it clear that transferring movie or drama synopses to a blog isn’t straightforward due to potential legal liabilities. In Japan, film companies and distributors are filing civil and criminal lawsuits against YouTubers who upload “fast movies” (condensed, spoiler-filled summaries). Recently, the Tokyo District Court ordered a YouTuber who unauthorizedly produced and publicly released movie reviews containing spoilers to pay approximately 4.6 billion KRW (roughly 3.3 million USD) in damages to a film company.
In South Korea, while there’s active discussion and debate about copyright issues related to “fast movie” videos, actual litigation cases are not common. I believe there are two main reasons for this. First, copyright infringement is generally a complaint-based offense (친고죄). Therefore, legal action doesn’t proceed unless the copyright holder, or the party whose copyright has been infringed, files a complaint. Additionally, it can be difficult for copyright holders to monitor individual infringing videos. Second, “fast movies” uploaded to YouTube can generate promotional effects and attract consumers. Thus, from the perspective of distributors and production companies holding copyrights, it may be more beneficial to enjoy the promotional effect of the video being re-examined or becoming a topic of discussion rather than initiating a lawsuit against the YouTuber who uploaded it.
Tips for Safely Blogging Movie & Drama Synopses
You need to be careful when writing movie or drama synopses on your blog. Here are some points to consider when creating your blog posts:
- Search for and use Creative Commons License (CCL) or reusable images on Naver or Google. CCL allows creators to specify certain conditions for others to freely use their work. If you use CCL content, you must comply with those conditions and always credit the copyright holder.
- When reviewing YouTube or other videos, avoid directly using the video without the copyright holder’s permission.
- If you use images or videos in your blog, minimize the use of original clips and instead use short clips, captured images, or official trailers.
- It’s important to transform and edit by adding narration, subtitles, or graphics, and to assign a new meaning rather than simply duplicating content.
- Audio (dialogue, music) is also protected by copyright, so use only the minimum necessary portions and utilize your own narration as the reviewer.
- Only use materials that copyright holders have distributed for promotional purposes, such as official movie or drama posters and trailer images, and always clearly state the source.
- Focus primarily on your personal thoughts, impressions, and critiques of the movie or drama, rather than just summarizing the plot.
Even if you follow these guidelines, you could still face a lawsuit if the original creator objects. South Korea is one of the countries with strong copyright protection. However, as mentioned earlier, there aren’t many copyright lawsuits related to blogs in South Korea. If you write your blog posts by applying the precautions listed, you likely won’t encounter significant issues. This is essentially the only way to safely write about movie or drama synopses on your blog.
Do you have any specific movie or drama you’re thinking of blogging about? I can help you brainstorm ways to discuss it while respecting copyright!
