視覺型角色著作權侵害判斷基準日本法和台灣法的比較

Abstract

虛擬角色已漸漸融入人們的日常生活，成為重要的精神食糧，並在文化娛樂產業中發揮著不可或缺的作用。然而，角色擁有者對角色利用行為的態度卻截然不同：對於盜版或搭便車行為深惡痛絕，極力打擊卻屢禁不止；而對於二次創作、Cosplay 等行為，卻常樂見其成並予以鼓勵。這種差異的根源在於角色蘊含龐大的經濟價值。 無論角色擁有者是透過原創或轉讓取得角色所有權，關鍵問題在於：角色本身是否為著作權法保護的客體？如果角色未受著作權法保護，角色擁有者是否能主張角色的利用行為侵害其權利？是否僅憑「外觀或概念上的相似」即可認定為著作權侵害？這一點引發諸多疑問。尤其是依靠主觀的「直觀感受」來判斷抄襲，容易對利用角色進行二次創作的行為、文化產生負面影響，引發寒蟬效應，許多創作者因此可能遭受壓力、裹足不前，甚至放棄創作，進而導致整體文化創作環境充斥著風聲鶴唳的悲觀情緒。 在無形財產保護的體系中，專利法和商標法需要事前申請，且必須經專門機關審查，取得與維護權利都需要經濟成本。而公平交易法雖規範市場競爭行為，但主要針對商業行為，對視覺型角色的保護仍顯不足。相比之下，著作權法採「創作主義」原則，無需申請，只要作品完成即可自動取得權利。但著作權法適用於視覺型角色保護之時，也會引發一系列新的問題，例如：權利保護範圍如何劃定？權利何時終止？作品和著作之區隔為何？作品的整體與部分是否均受保護？ 本論文以著作權法為核心，聚焦視覺型角色是否能獨立受到著作權保護，並分析作為決定保護範圍的重要標準「實質相似」的判斷如何進行。進一步地，本論文回歸角色本身，分析虛擬角色在社會、經濟及文化層面的重要性，揭示其保護的必要性，並釐清角色的定義，尤其是台灣與日本法制下針對「角色」共同的涵義。此外，本研究將角色類型劃分為「人物形象角色」與「視覺型角色」，解析角色的組成元素，為後續視覺型角色著作權侵害研究奠定理論基礎。 在法律分析部分，本論文透過台灣與日本的著作權法，探討視覺型角色作為著作權保護客體的成立要件，並深入分析其中的司法實務的流變。此外，針對「實質相似」判斷在視覺型角色案件中的適用情形，探討台灣與日本法院如何進行判斷，並比較台灣與日本在司法實務與學說演變上的異同。 最後，本論文透過比較研究，探討台灣與日本在視覺型角色保護上的優劣之處，提出改善建議，並試圖建立一套更合理、客觀的實質相似判斷標準，以劃定著作權保護的範圍，平衡保護與利用之間的關係，進而促進文化產業的繁榮與創新發展。

Virtual characters have gradually integrated into people's daily lives, becoming important spiritual food and playing an indispensable role in the cultural entertainment industry. However, the attitudes of character owners towards the use of their characters vary greatly: they deeply detest and strongly combat piracy and free-riding behaviors, yet these practices persist despite their efforts. On the other hand, they often welcome and even encourage activities such as secondary creation and cosplay. The root of this difference lies in the enormous economic value embodied by the characters. Regardless of whether a character owner obtains ownership of a character through original creation or transfer, the key question is: is the character itself the object of copyright protection? If the character is not protected by copyright law, can the owner of the character claim that the use of the character infringes his or her rights? Is “visual or conceptual similarity” alone sufficient to establish copyright infringement? This raises many questions. In particular, relying on subjective “intuitive feelings” to determine plagiarism is likely to have a negative impact on the behavior and culture of secondary creation using characters, triggering a chilling effect in which many creators may be pressured to move forward or even give up their creations, leading to a pessimistic environment of cultural creativity that is full of cries of panic. In the system of intangible property protection, patent law and trademark law require prior application and must be examined by specialized authorities, and both acquisition and maintenance of rights require economic costs. Although the fair trade law regulates market competition, it mainly focuses on commercial behavior, and the protection of visual roles is still insufficient. In contrast, copyright law adopts the principle of “creativity”, which means that no application is required and rights can be obtained automatically as soon as the work is completed. However, the application of copyright law to the protection of visual characters will also lead to a series of new issues, such as: how to delimit the scope of protection of rights? When does the right terminate? What is the distinction between a work and a work of authorship? Is the whole or part of a work protected? This paper focuses on whether visual characters can be independently protected by copyright, and analyzes how the “substantial similarity judgment” is an important criterion for determining the scope of protection. Further, it returns to the characters themselves, analyzes the importance of virtual characters in the social, economic, and cultural contexts, reveals the necessity of their protection, and clarifies the definition of a character, especially the meaning of “character” under the Taiwanese and Japanese legal systems. In addition, this study categorizes character types into “persona characters” and “visual characters”, analyzes the components of characters, and lays the theoretical foundation for the subsequent study of copyright infringement of visual characters. In the legal analysis section, this thesis explores the establishment of visual characters as the object of copyright protection through the copyright laws of Taiwan and Japan, and analyzes in-depth the changes in the judicial practices of the two countries. In addition, the paper examines the application of the “substantial similarity” judgment in visual character cases, discusses how the courts in Taiwan and Japan make their judgments, and compares the similarities and differences between the two countries in terms of judicial practice and doctrinal evolution. Finally, through comparative studies, this paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of Taiwan and Japan in the protection of visual characters, proposes recommendations for improvement, and attempts to establish a more reasonable and objective standard for determining substantial similarity, so as to delimit the scope of copyright protection, balance the relationship between protection and exploitation, and promote the prosperity and innovative development of the cultural industry.