Lee International

Amendments to the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act (“UCPA”) prohibiting unfair and unauthorized use of the name, image and other personal attributes identifying a celebrity was adopted on December 7, 2021.  The UCPA amendments will take effect on June 8, 2022.

Recently, there have been frequent cases of unauthorized use of the name, image and other personal attributes identifying a celebrity with widespread of the Korean Wave (“Hanryu”) and the increased customer attraction to celebrities.  However, the pre-amended UCPA did not explicitly stipulate any provisions prohibiting such unauthorized use, thereby making it difficult to properly protect the identity of a celebrity.  Korean constitutional law and tort law partially prohibit the use of the name, image and personal attributes of a celebrity.  However, the scope of such protection only extends to basic personal rights to one’s name and image, violation of which may result in award of damages for causing mental harms only.  As such, even when the name and image of a famous athlete or actor is used in an advertisement without prior consent, the amount of damages awarded was usually much less than the actual damages, and adequate protection was not available under the pre-amended UCPA. 

According to the amended UCPA, an act that infringes an individual’s right to profit from the commercial use of the name, image, voice, signature, or other personal attributes identifying a widely recognized person, by the unauthorized exploitation of such identity for the infringer’s own commercial gain in a manner contrary to the fair trade practices or the order of competition is now considered an act of unfair competition.  Thus, under the amended UCPA, a celebrity who suffered financial damages due to unauthorized use of the name and image may seek civil remedies claiming an injunction and/or damages, as well as administrative remedies, such as an administrative investigation and/or a corrective action. 

The amended UCPA is expected to provide a clarified scope of protection in name and image enforcement cases to award fair compensation to unauthorized use of the identity of a celebrity.