Korean Intellectual Property Office to Collaborate with K-Pop Industry to Protect Korean Wave Intellectual Property

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The Korean Intellectual Property Office and Korea Music Contents Association jointly held the ‘Global K-Pop Conference’ at 10 am on December 3 at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas (Gangnam-gu, Seoul).

In this event, Korea’s leading entertainment agencies and music distributors and the People’s Strength Councilor Lee Cheol-Gyu participated and shared various opinions on the protection of intellectual property in the K-Pop industry. K-Pop artists Momoland and AB6IX will also be present.

The Korean Wave began in the late 1990s when Korean dramas pioneered Asian markets like China and Japan. From the mid-2000s, the field expanded to K-Pop and movies, and the region also spread to the United States, Europe, and South America. Done.

Recently, Korean culture has spread worldwide in various fields, from movies and dramas such as Parasite and Squid Game to games, Hangeul, and food, including Korean’ chimera.

Among them, K-Pop is a representative cultural content leading the Korean Wave, selected as the top image representing Korea for four consecutive years. Thanks to this influence of K-Pop, various planned products and advertisements using the portraits and names of K-Pop artists are appearing. However, at the same time, it is a reality that illegal products and services that use the portraits and names of K-Pop artists without permission are appearing.

In this dimension, the event was prepared for checking intellectual property issues related to Hallyu, centered on K-Pop, and checking appropriate protection measures. The event begins with a ceremony to remove illegal goods, attended by Kim Yong-race, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, Lee Cheol-Gyu, National Assemblyman Lee Cheol-Gyu, Kim Chang-hwan, president of the Music Contents Association, K-Pop industry representatives, and Momoland and AB6IX. After that, it will be divided into the topic presentation and general discussion.

The first topic presentation is about the revised ‘Unfair Competition Prevention Act, which has recently been passed by the State Council and will be promulgated on December 7. In the amended Unfair Competition Prevention Act, the so-called ‘publicity right,’ a new regulation to protect property values ​​such as portraits and names of celebrities, is newly added. Through this announcement, the purpose of the revised law and measures to regulate the unauthorized use of portraits and names of celebrities, which have been difficult to protect, will be shared.

After that, there will be announcements that share cases of disputes experienced directly by entertainment agencies and music distributors regarding illegal goods using artists’ portraits and names without permission, trademark infringement, and illegal distribution of music.

After the presentation, a panel discussion will be held on the direction of intellectual property policy related to Hallyu with the participation of presenters, legal circles, and music industry professionals. Cheol-Gyu Lee, who proposed the amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, also participated in the discussion.

Kim Yong-race, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, “The spread of Hallyu content has more value than economic benefits in that it can spread a positive image of Korea.” Furthermore, we will do our best to protect our intellectual property so that our industry’s efforts can be pretty compensated even abroad, where the Hallyu craze is blowing.”

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