이러닝(e-learning)의 법적 쟁점에 관한 소고

Abstract

E-learning is necessary to be analyzed from the legal point of view, because it is the legal institution that is regulated by some related legislations including the 「Act on the Development of E-learning Industry and the Promotion of the Utilization of E-learning」. This article is to review the legal issues of e-learning related with various legal branches, such as Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Copyright Act, Deregulation of Standardized Agreement Act, Consumer Protection Act, etc. On the general review: As e-learning has the constitutional and legislative grounds, we can ascertain that the concrete claim of rights is deduced by some above provisions. Also organizing e-learning related Acts and legal systems, accompanied with the introduction of the so-called Framework Act on E-learning, is required. On the particular review: First, concerning the scope of application of the intellectual property rights, it is necessary to establish reasonable bounds about the protection of e-learning business operators’ property rights and the limitation on authors’ copyrights for the purpose of education. Second, concerning the protection of consumers’ rights and interests, as the standardized agreement of e-learning is already instituted, it is useful for both business operators and consumers. Third, concerning the quality certification, due to the e-learning quality certification having the nature of regulation, the application of the flexible policy is required. And the policy on improvement of service quality, such as the intensification of post evaluations, the proper reward to e-learning business operators, the enlargement of mutual utilization systems, etc, is necessary. Hereafter, more advanced studies are anticipated to be introduced in order to effectively cope with the various legal issues derived from unsettled problems, such as the organization or verification of e-learning related legal systems, the role of governmental authority, the scope on the protection of e-learning business operators’ rights, the policy concerning the diversification of e-learning contents and the quality improvements.