• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.191-210
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• 2017

The old sources of competitive edge and value added were land, labor, and capital. In today's knowledge-based economy in the 21st century, technology is attracting attention as a new engine of growth. That paradigm shift of world economy has resulted in the global spread of technology transfer and the gradual increase of trade of intangible goods including patents and know-how as well as tangible goods in international trade. An international license agreement is a representative form of technology transfer. In license agreements, the providers of technology keep their ownership of technology, allow the implementation of technology to the users of technology only for a certain period of time, and receive loyalty as a reward. Economic profit through such technology trade can be realized with the smooth implementation and termination of agreement. International license agreements are different from sales contracts, which represent international business transaction based on mutual obligation, in many aspects in that they target intangible goods of technology and aim for rent for a certain period of time. This study thus set out to examine issues that could be controversial in the main and individual obligation of the parties in international license agreements and provide implications helpful for the prevention of disputes in advance.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.321-351
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• 2004

According to increase of Franchise Agreements, troubles related to those agreements and trading acts occur frequently. As Franchise system had come from Western countries, franchise agreement troubles tend to international disputes. In fact, those parties entered into a franchise agreement prefer arbitration to lawsuit as a dispute resolution system because arbitration is easy to risk-management for cost and time. The essential conditions for Franchise agreements are as follows ; for Franchise to grant Intellectual Properties to Franchisee, to give an impression of the same company between Franchise and Franchisee, to control and support Franchisee, for Franchisee to be an independent merchant, and to pay Franchiser license fee. Because Franchise Agreement is also based on liberty of contract, Franchise and Franchisee could enter into any kind of agreement. However, Franchiser can make an unfair agreement abusing a position of advantage. This paper check those unfair terms and conditions in Franchise agreement. Once they enter into an agreement, they should fulfil their contract. In case of trouble on performing the contract, both of them have to discuss to solve that trouble faithfully. But, they enter into either lawsuit or arbitration in accordance with agreement when they can't reach a decision in general. Specially, which is the most popular dispute resolution hands in case of Intellectual Property License agreement. General international Franchise Agreements have arbitration terms, but there is other case such as separate Arbitration Agreement if the want, which is separate from Franchise License agreement, so even though Franchise License agreement is invalidated, Arbitration agreement continues to exist, This paper reviews Franchise system and the terms of arbitration in Franchise agreement.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.69
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• pp.673-698
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• 2016

This study tries to conduct a systematic analysis on whether adding up the royalties and license fees or not in measuring the taxable amount of tariff. We have confirmed that three main criteria to decide whether it is yes or not are non-inclusion, relatedness and condition of sale. We also have realized that whether satisfying a condition of sale or not depends on license agreement, sales contract, special relationship and so on. Furthermore, we have made case studies of bonded factory, film's domestic distribution, exempt royalty and license fee, price for exclusive use of relevant technology, retroactive application of price change and strict interpretation. Based on the case studies we have derived the following conclusions: First, the royalties and license fees only actually paid to the licensors may be added to taxable amount. Second, the royalties and license fees incurred after the imported goods are made into domestic goods may not be added up. Third, the royalties and license fees paid as a price for use may not be added up. Fourth, the analogical interpretation of relevant codes is not accepted.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.73
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• pp.1-20
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• 2017

There are many safeguards and measures available regulating the protection of a trademark and its registered holder, however, the protection of a licensee in a trademark license agreement is also important for protection of a intellectual property. Therefore, there are several measures in place for the protection of licensees' interests in Chinese trademark law. Article 43(3) of the Chinese Trademark Law rules a licensor who licenses others to use his registered trademark shall submit the trademark licensing to the trademark office for file, and the trademark office shall announce the trademark licensing to public. Without filing, the trademark licensing shall not be used against a bona fide third party. It means a licensee can not use an unrecorded license with the relevant trademark authority against third parties - essentially, this means that a licensee should insist on having their trademark license agreements recorded against the relevant trademark authority, so that a licensee's interests are protected as against the assignees, licensees and other types of third parties. Otherwise a third party in good faith can use the registered trademark legally against a licensee even though a trademark license agreement between a licensor and licensee is still valid.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.225-238
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• 2021

This study analyzed the recent precedents of the Korean Supreme Court's Royalty and License fee on this issue and presented implications for future taxation of Royalty and License fee and digital content imports related to reproduction rights. If the price related to imported goods and the price not related to them are combined, it is necessary to revise the statutes to supplement the allocation method of royalty and license fee. In addition, if there is an agreement or a back contract for intellectual property rights through the headquarters or branch office other than the trading party, a method of inducing the importer to voluntarily report it when reporting imports should be considered. Whether Royalty and License fee is taxed or not must be determined after examining the various contract details and circumstances of the transaction.

• Journal of Legislation Research
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• no.44
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• pp.487-538
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• 2013

It is the most critical issue in recent international intellectual property licence disputes to decide the applicable laws to the license contracts. As Korea and the European Union(EU) reached free trade agreement(FTA), and the EU-Korea FTA entered into force on July 1, 2011, the FTA has boosted social, economic, cultural exchanges between the two. As a result of the increased transactions in those sectors, legal disputes are also expected to grow. This situation calls for extensive research and understanding of the choice of law principles applicable to international intellectual property license contracts in the EU. To decide the laws applicable to issues arising from international intellectual property license contracts disputes, the characterization of those issues is necessary for the purpose of applying private international law principles to them. In terms of characterization, intellectual property license contracts fall within contractual matters. In the EU, the primary rule of choice of law principles in contractual obligations is the Rome I Regulation. Because the choice of law rules, such as private international law principles, the Rome Convention(1980), and the Rome I Regulation, differ in the time of application, it is essential to clarify the time factor of related contracts. For example, the Rome I Regulation applies to contracts which were concluded as from December 17, 2009. Although party autonomy in international contracts disputes is generally allowed, if there is no choice of law agreement between the parties to the contracts, the objective test rule of private international law doctrine could be the best option. Following this doctrine, the Rome I Regulation Article 4, Paragraph 1 provides the governing law rules based on the types of contracts, but there is no room for intellectual property license contracts. After all, as the rule for governing law of those contracts, the Rome I Regulation Article 4, Paragraph 2 should be applied and if there are countries which are more closely connected to the contracts under the Rome I Regulation Article 4, Paragraph 3, the laws of those countries become the governing laws of the contracts. Nevertheless, if it is not possible to decide the applicable laws to the license contracts, the Rome I Regulation Article 4, Paragraph 4 should be applied in the last resort and the laws of the countries which are the most closely connected to the contracts govern the license contracts. Therefore, this research on the laws applicable to intellectual property license contracts under the Rome I Regulation suggests more systematic and effective solutions for future disputes in which Korea and the EU countries play the significant role as the connecting factors in the conflict of laws rules. Moreover, it helps to establish comprehensive and theoretical understanding of applying the Korean Private International Law to multifarious choice-of-law cases.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.45-66
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• 2009

Licensing of information is the standard of the computer information business today. The huge bulk of vendors license their computer information products. The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act(UCITA), therefore, does not originate licensing contracts. UCITA was developed to provide basic, recognizable default rules for the existing licensing activity that goes on and expands as commerce in computer information expands. UCITA's rules govern licensing of contracts for computer information from formation through performance, including remedies if there is a breach of contract. Included in UCITA are rules for warranties, both implied and express, and rules pertaining to risk of loss in a computer information transaction. Most of the rules in UCITA are the traditional and familiar rules of contract from the law of sales and from the common law, but adapted to the special nature of computer information licensing contracts. Freedom of contract is a dominating underlying policy for UCITA, exactly as that principle is the foundation for the law of commercial transactions, generally, and exactly as that law has served all commercial transactions in the United States and has contributed to the economic growth and health of the United States.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.20
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• pp.129-150
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• 2003

Software license agreements, to be useful in the mass market, could not be individually negotiated, and had to be standardized and concise. The software license agreement needs to be presented to the licensee-users in a fashion that would allow for mass distribution of software, also for it to enforceable, that would draw the users' attention to the terms and conditions under which the publisher allowed the use of the software. These needs have been accomplished, with or without fail, through so called the "shrink-wrap licenses" Shrink-wrap licenses purpose to transfer computer softwares to their users by defining the terms and conditions of use of the software without implicating the "first sale doctrine" of the Copyright Act. These shrink-wrap licenses have become essential to the software industry. However, in USA, the law applicable to these licenses has been unclear and unsettled. Courts have struggled to develop a coherent framework governing their enforceability. Meanwhile, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws ("NCCUSL") in USA promulgated the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act ("UCITA") governing contracts for computer information transaction on July 29, 1999. One clear objective of UCITA was to settle the law governing the enforceability of shrink-wrap licenses. In these respects, this paper first introduces the various forms that shrink-wrap licenses take(at Part II. Section 1.), and explains the main advantages of them(at Part II. Section 2.) Here it shows how shrink-wrap licenses value themselves for both software publishers and users, including that shrink-wrap licenses are a valuable contracting tool because they provide vital information and rights to software users and because they permit the contracting flexibility that is essential for today's software products. Next, this paper describes the current legal framework applicable to shrink-wrap licenses in USA(at Part III). Here it shows that in USA the development of case law governing shrink-wrap licenses occurred in two distinct stages. At first stage, judicial hostility toward shrink-wrap licenses marked such that they were not enforced pursuant to Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. At second stage, courts began to recognize the pervasiveness of shrink-wrap licenses, their indispensability to the rapidly expanding information technology industry, and the urgent need to enforce such licenses in order to maintain low prices for consumers of computer hardware or software, resulting in the recognition of shrink-wrap licenses. Finally, in view of the importance of UCITA, this paper examines how it will affect the enforceability of shrink-wrap licenses(at Part IV). The drafters of UCITA, as well as the scholars and practitioners who have criticized it, agree that it validates shrink-wrap licenses, provided certain procedural protections are afforded to purchasers. These procedural protections include the licensee end-user must (i) manifest his assent to the shrink-wrap license, (ii) have an opportunity to review the shrink-wrap license, (iii) have a right to return the product without costs.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.1-12
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• 2002

The purpose of this paper is to examine the scope of the application of Preliminary Draft Convention, which will be fixed as international uniform rules soon, in relation to the CISG. First, this Draft Convention will cover service contracts as well as sales contract of goods, but the license agreement will be excepted because it does not transfer the complete property. Second, this will cover the commercial contracts(sales or services) concluded by data message fully or partially. Third, this will be applied in international contract regardless of contracting states or non-contracting states. As it is very difficult to confirm the places of business of contracting parties in on-line contracts, the first criterion to confirm them is the indication by the party in each contract. This presumption may be supplemented, if they are not indicated in the contract, by the location of the equipment and technology supporting an information system used by a legal entity for the conclusion of a contract. It is essential to establish an international uniform rules as soon as possible in order to activate the international businesses with on-line basis. Thus this author hopes that this paper will contribute to the clear understanding to the scope of application of Preliminary Draft Convention for which the UNCITRAL is under working.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.21
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• pp.325-361
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• 1994

The Library of Congress' proposal to license LC MARC database and the following debate over the proposal shows that the issue on ownership of bibliographic databases, which surfaced as a topic of concern in the international library community with the OCLC's a n.0, pplication for copyright of its databases in 1982, is not fading or dead into the 1990s. In particular, the way that technological developments are outpacing the ability of the relevant organizations and legal systems to make necessary adjustments is giving the library profession a warning that cooperative efforts for further development of the international library systems, such as the UBC program, might be seriously impeded without a swift and amicable agreement on the controversial 'database ownership' issue. Here, the purpose of this paper lies in discussing the 'database ownership' issue from a macro and long-term perspective, with emphasis on its potential impacts on, and implications for, international information flows. To the end, the specific questions covered in this paper include : 1) what are the major causes of the database ownership controversy? 2) what are the potential impacts of the database ownership issue on the library profession's cooperative efforts toward free bibliographic information flows at the international level? And finally, 3) what are the implications of the database ownership issue for the Korean Library Community, which is making efforts toward the establishment of a national library network in near future through linking various library automation systems.