Korea, EU to jointly develop music, content copyright protection

Discussion session from the first “EU-Korea Copyright Roundtable,” held in Seoul on June 4. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

The Korean government and the European Commission will join forces to develop a music and content copyright protection solution amid the rising demand for cultural content matched by increasing content piracy.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held the first roundtable discussion on copyright policy issues and developing joint solutions in Seoul on Thursday. Items on the agenda mainly concerned the collective management system for music copyrights, a common interest of Korea and the European Union (EU), the legislative frameworks and practical operations of both participants and areas for mutual cooperation, according to the Culture Ministry.

Choi Jun-hyuk, the deputy director of the Culture Ministry's copyright industry division, and Anneli Andresson-Bourgey, the Far-East IP policy officer and Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission, explained the collective management systems for music copyrights in Korea and the EU.

Representatives from the Korea Music Copyright Association (Komca); Korean Society of Composer, Authors and Publishers (Koscap); and copyright organizations from Germany and France presented suggestions from their respective organizations.

Prof. Choi Seung-jae from Sejong University, College of Law, served as the moderator for the discussion. Attendees shared their opinions on future challenges and ways to improve the collective management system for music copyrights in Korea and the EU.

A separate “Workshop on Public Performance Right” on the collection and distribution of performance fees was held Thursday afternoon. Participants discussed in-depth cooperative measures for the smooth operation and improvement of the performance fee system between Korea and the EU.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]