The Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism can be launching a particular investigation into publisher Hyungseol and the contract it holds with the creators of fashionable youngsters manhwa Black Rubber Shoes following the March 11 suicide of Lee Yoo-young, one of the creators. The investigation was initiated following a petition by the Korean Cartoonists Association. In addition it stated it should arrange a legal-advice bureau for younger creators involved with copyright.
The particular investigation will decide whether or not the contract signed by Lee and his brother Woo-jin with publisher Hyungseol was unfair and in violation of the Protection of Artists’ Rights Act, which got here into impact in September 2022.
In a state of affairs a bit reminiscent of Siegel and Shuster, the brother complained that regardless of the recognition of the strip -which ran 15 years and spawned multiples movies and Tv exhibits – as a result of of signing their unique contract, they’d made solely 12 million received (about $9000) from Black Rubber Shoes over the course of 15 years.
Korea is a hotbed for comics and the birthplace of the favored vertical webtoon format. Recent reviews have talked concerning the harsh work circumstances and the affect on psychological well being however the position of publisher contracts and possession rights (a common downside within the comics world) has been little mentioned.
On March 11 Lee Yoo-young, 51, was discovered useless in his house in Incheon by members of the family. It was reported as a suicide and his household had stated he was “struggling due to copyright suit issues” – each mentally and financially. The copyright swimsuit filed by Hyungseol towards the creators behind Black Rubber Shoes was initiated in 2019.
According to The Korea Herald:
“In 2019, the two brothers were sued by the head of Hyungseol, who had taken over the copyright and business rights for Black Rubber Shoes. The publishing house filed a lawsuit for 286 million won ($219,000) in damages against the two for allegedly using the characters without the company’s consent. The brothers had signed a contract with the publishing house in 2007, and since then had been barred from creating secondary works based on the copyright of Black Rubber Shoes. The original cartoonists were paid about 12 million won ($9,200) over a period of about 15 years.”
Black Rubber Shoes is a well-liked household manhwa about Nineteen Sixties/Nineteen Seventies Korea previous to the huge social, industrial, and technological modifications that may happen in successive many years. It was created and drawn by brothers Lee Yoo-young and Woo-Jin; and written by Lee Young-il. It ran from 1992 to 2006 in biweekly Sonyeon Champ journal. The title of the comedian comes from a budget, hard-wearing sneakers that Korean youngsters generally wore within the interval. A TV adaptation debuted in 1999 and a number of TV and flicks have been produced based mostly on the property – with the newest being a film in October 2022. Hyungseol claims the brothers signed over all possession to the IP in 2007 and that it has unique rights to the use of and income from exploiting the work.
With media protection of the demise of a well-liked cartoon’s co-creator, alongside petitions from the their household and the Korean Cartoonists Association this week – the strain seems to have mounted and compelled the Korean authorities to behave extra swiftly.
According to Korea JoongAng Daily:
“Culture minister Park Bo-gyoon ordered that the investigation look into whether or not Lee’s tragic resolution is straight linked to the unfair contract and to take robust actions.
“The process pressure workforce, which can consist of consultants in fields like copyright, the cartoon trade and publishing in addition to legal professionals, will inquire into whether or not there was any violation on the Protection of Artists’ Rights Act by investigating the publisher and different associated events.
“[Culture Ministry spokesperson Kang Jung-won] stressed that if the investigation finds anything that goes against the Rights Protection Act including coercing cartoonists into signing an unfair contract, the ministry will notify the Fair Trade Commission and related organizations to take follow-up measures.”
Kang Jung-won added,
“The ministry will also establish a copyright legal aid center that offers legal advice to younger artists and finds ways to protect their rights and interests to their work.”
This could possibly be doubtlessly game-changing for creators rights and safety within the nation.
An earlier regulation, the Artist Welfare Act 2011 was set as much as,
“…legally protect the professional status and rights of artists; to promote the creative activities of artists; and to contribute to artistic development by providing artists with welfare support services.”
The third article of the Artist Welfare Act 2011 – which features a 2013 modification – stated:
“Article 3 (Status and Rights of Artists)
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- “Each artist shall be correctly revered as a being who considerably contributes to enhancing Korean tradition and to bettering the standard of life model of the folks.
- “Each artist shall have a proper to freely have interaction in inventive actions and to pretty take pleasure in psychological and materials advantages from the outcomes of inventive actions.
- “Each artist shall have a right not to be compelled to sign an unfair contract as tangible or intangible interests are offered or to be threated with any disadvantage. <Newly Inserted by Act No. 12136, Dec. 30, 2013>”
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Presumably this was insufficiently enforced – significantly for cartoonists – and the brand new October 2022 Rights Protection Act can have extra enamel.
[If you or someone you know is in danger of commiting self-harm, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988.]
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