"Golf course design drawings can be recognized as copyrighted works"...Golfzon case reversed and remanded

In a copyright dispute over golf course designs between Golfzon, the country’s leading screen golf company, and several golf course designers, the Supreme Court of Korea has ruled that the design drawings may possess originality. The Court sent the case back to the lower court for a new trial.
On the 26th, the First Petty Bench of the Supreme Court of Korea, presided over by Justice Noh Tae-ak, reversed the lower court’s decision and remanded the case, effectively ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in a damages lawsuit filed by three domestic and foreign design firms, including Songho Golf Design, against Golfzon.
The designers had signed design contracts with golf course owners and created a total of 11 golf courses. Afterward, Golfzon entered into usage agreements with the course owners and included video reproductions of those courses in its screen golf simulation system. The designers claimed that Golfzon had "infringed the copyrights in the golf course design drawings" and sought damages, an injunction to stop the infringement, and destruction of the infringing materials.
For copyright infringement to be found, Golfzon’s simulation system must have been created based on the golf courses devised by the designers, and there must be substantial similarity between the original creative expression embodied in the courses and the simulation.
The court of first instance held that the designers’ creative individuality was expressed in the design drawings and recognized their originality, ruling in favor of the designers. The appellate court, however, denied originality, stating that the drawings "do not contain any expressive elements with originality beyond functional aspects."
The Supreme Court of Korea again overturned that view and recognized originality.
The Supreme Court of Korea stated, "As long as the selection, arrangement, and combination of the components shown in each golf course design drawing are not mere imitations or something that anyone could easily create in the same or a similar way, the drawings can be seen as containing the designer’s own expression and as having creative individuality that distinguishes them from existing design drawings."
The Court further noted, "Each design drawing reflects, in a complex manner, the facilities needed for users to enjoy golf, the shape and layout of each hole, and the location, shape, and number of basic components," and explained that these elements "are selected and arranged according to the design intent to form an organic combination." Strategic course changes from tee shot to putting, as well as harmony with the surrounding landscape and landscaping, were also evaluated as part of the creative expression.
According to the Supreme Court of Korea, even if golf courses share common elements that must conform to certain rules, a degree of originality can still be recognized. The Court stated, "Golf rules, the topography of the development site, and the convenience and safety of golf course users are naturally taken into account, and this may limit the scope for creative expression," but added, "Designers can still exercise creative individuality by diversely selecting, arranging, and combining the various components that make up a golf course, so that it can be distinguished from other courses or individual holes."
A Supreme Court of Korea official commented on the significance of the ruling, saying, "If, in line with a certain design intent, the designer exercises creative individuality so that the various components forming a golf course are selected, arranged, and combined in diverse ways that distinguish it from other courses or individual holes, then, unless it is merely a simple imitation of another’s work or something that anyone could easily create in the same or a similar way, there is room to recognize originality as a copyrighted work."

scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter