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코리아헤럴드가 단독 입수한 미국 캘리포니아 법원 문건에 의하면 CJ E&M과 미국 자회사인 CJ E&M은 수백 개에 달하는 k-pop 음원을 미국 포함, 해외 사용자들에게 불법 유통시킨 혐의로 올해 3월 캘리포니아 중앙지방법원 (Central District of California)에 피소되어, 5천만불 (약 570억원) 규모의 민사소송을 진행 중인 것으로 확인되었다.
국내외 법률 전문가들은 국내 최대 미디어&엔터테인먼트 회사인 CJ E&M이 연루된 저작권법 위반 소송은 올해 미국 내 저작권 관련 소송 중 최대 규모가 될 것으로 추정하고 있다.
본사가 입수한 문건에 따르면 CJ의 미국 내 소송 기각 노력에도 불구하고 미국 법원은 본 소송의 배심원 재판 날짜를 내년 3월 1일 확정했다.
CJ E&M와 CJ E&M 아메리카를 대상으로 소송을 제기한 원고는 서울 소재의 한국음악 해외 유통사 DFSB Kollective (이하 DFSB) 사 이며, 미국 헐리우드 엔터테인먼트 관련 소송으로 유명한 로펌 ``브라운 조지 로스 (Browne George Ross)’’사로부터 법률 자문을 받고 있다.
원고 측 주장에 따르면 CJ E&M의 미국 내 음원 불법유통 형태는 다양하다.
우선 원고는 CJ E&M이 자사 음악서비스 사이트인 Mnet을 통해 DFSB가 해외유통권을 가지고 있는 300여 개의 한국음악 파일을 사전 허락없이 미국을 포함한 해외소비자들로 하여금 헐값에 다운로드 받을 수 있게 했으며, 이는 불법유통 행위에 해당된다고 주장하고 있다.
피고는 캘리포니아 소재 유명 뮤직스트리밍 서비스 회사인 비츠뮤직 (Beats Music)에 k-pop 음원을 공급하면서 DFSB가 해외유통권을 확보한 음원의 국제인증 디지털코드(International Standard Recording Code, ISRC)를 사전 허가 없이 도용했다는 혐의도 받고 있다.
원고 측은 미국 내에서 국제음반산업협회가 발급하는 ISRC를 사전에 취득하지 않은 채 자사가 해외에 음원을 유통시키는 행위는 불법이라고 주장하고 있다.
원고는 CJ E&M의 이러한 해외 음원유통관행을 의도적인 행위로 규정하고 있으며 따라서 ‘징벌적’ 손해배상으로 5천만불을 청구했다.
CJ E&M가 연루된 소송의 또 다른 하일라이트는 미국의 디지털 컨텐츠 저작권 보호를 위한 ``디지털 밀레니움 저작권법’’ 위반 여부다.
한국의 법률전문가들은 CJ E&M 연루 소송이 한국기업이 DMCA 위반으로 미국에서 피소당한 첫 사례라고 말한다.
건국대 로스쿨 저작권법 전문 이재경 교수에 따르면, 한국은 저작권법 하에 디지털 콘텐츠를 보호하는 항목을 따로 명시하고 있지 않고 일반 저작물과 동일하게 취급하고 있으며 처벌 수위도 경미하지만, 미국은 2000년 DMCA를 제정해 디지털 컨텐츠 저작권 위반을 엄격하게 처벌하고 있다.
CJ E&M의 법무팀은 이메일을 통해 원고의 주장은 사실과 다른 점이 있다고 답변했다. CJ E&M은 음원 해외 불법유통 행위로 2011년 9월에도 DFSB에게 피소된 적이 있다.
CJ E&M 측은 DFSB와의 소송 이전 Mnet을 통한 해외 소비자 대상 음원다운로드 서비스를 중지했다고 서면으로 밝혔다.
또한, ``미국 소송과 관련하여 원고가 사실을 정확히 파악하지 못한 채 부당하게 제기한 소송으로 CJ E&M은 최종 판결을 통해 자사의 결백을 밝힐 예정’’이라고 덧붙였다.
``한국 음원 유통사는 대다수가 뮤지션보다는 자사의 수익 극대화에만 관심을 보인다. 아티스트들은 이러한 거대 자본과 맞서 창작물을 지켜낼 힘이 없는 것이 현실’’이라며 한 인디음악 보컬리스트는 익명을 통해 좌절감을 표현했다.
(코리아헤럴드 서지연 기자, jyseo@heraldcorp.com)
<관련 영문기사>
CJ E&M sued in U.S. for illegal distribution of K-pop music
-CJ Group vice chairwoman expected to testify in $50 million lawsuit over illegal distribution of K-pop music
By Kim Hoo-ran and Seo Jee-yeon
CJ E&M, South Korea’s largest entertainment and media company, is facing a $50 million lawsuit in the U.S. for large-scale copyright-related violations, according to California court documents obtained by The Korea Herald.
Legal experts said the lawsuit is the biggest U.S. music copyright infringement case of the year in terms of the amount of damages sought.
Seoul-based Korean music agency DFSB Kollective filed a suit against CJ E&M and its U.S. arm CJ E&M America in March with the Central District Court of California.
The agency claimed the two firms committed copyright infringement and submitted false copyright management information on hundreds of K-pop songs to which it holds “exclusive’’ licenses to distribute overseas markets including the U.S. The music agency is represented by Hollywood entertainment law firm Browne George Ross.
The plaintiff said it had attained the international distribution rights for about 300 Korean songs by registering on behalf of the relevant Korean artists with the U.S. Copyright Office.
CJ E&M and CJ E&M America had submitted a motion to dismiss the case, calling the agency’s claims groundless, but the court rejected it and has set a jury trial date for March 1, 2016.
According to recent initial disclosures, several former and current CJ E&M executives including CJ Group vice chairwoman Lee Mie-Kyung, better known as Miky Lee in the global entertainment scene, are on the list of potential witnesses who will be asked to provide evidence and testify in the case.
As one of the most influential figures in promoting Korean pop culture overseas, the elder sister of CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun has led the group’s entertainment and media businesses ranging from music to TV dramas to films since 1995. Lee, who is a U.S. citizen, resides in California.
In the U.S. civil lawsuit, the plaintiff is claiming that while it was legally licensed to sell Korean songs in the U.S. on digital music stores such as Apple iTunes for $0.99 to $1.29 per download, the defendants committed copyright infringements by allowing international customers including U.S. users to access their Korean Mnet.com website and purchase the same Korean songs at price-dumped rates per download to even as low as free. Copyright holders’ returns become smaller as the download prices fall.
The case could set a precedent for protecting Korean music copyrights overseas as the plaintiff also added claims of Digital Millennium Copyright Act violations to its U.S. civil lawsuit.
On top of copyright infringement claims, DFSB Kollective has levelled allegations that since 2014, CJ E&M and CJ E&M America have provided incorrect copyright credits and altered industry-standard registration codes to Korean songs played on the California-based Beats Music streaming service. Apple owns Beats Music, having acquired the site last year.
The misconduct violates “content management information” under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Local legal experts say DFSB Kollective’s case is the first ever DMCA lawsuit filed against the Korean music industry giant.
“Unlike Korea, the U.S.’ DMCA law levies ‘punitive’ damages for misconduct involving copyrights in the digital domain,” said professor Lee Jae-Kyoung of Konkuk University Law School.
CJ E&M’s legal team said Wednesday via email exchange, “The complaints that the plaintiff filed are not true and so the company will fight against them without compromise until we are proven innocent.”
The company claimed it terminated the music download service to international customers in 2011 after it found “technical errors” that had allowed such downloads.
CJ E&M also said there is no irregularity in the distribution of Korean music in the U.S. via Beats Music through the “exclusive” distribution contact with the U.S. streaming site, signed last year.
Furthermore, CJ E&M accused DFSB Kollective of bringing to the U.S. the case that reached a settlement in the Korean court in 2012. In the breach of contract lawsuit, filed in 2011, DFSB Kollective sued for similar copyright management misconduct.
Regardless of the outcome of the current case, singers, songwriters and musicians have expressed frustration over seeing their creative works being distributed illegally at home and abroad by Korean distributors who call themselves Korean pop culture promoters.
The lead singer of a Korean indie band who discovered their albums were made available on Beats Music by CJ E&M and CJ E&M America without their knowledge or permission, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We are too powerless to fight against them to protect our creative works.”
(khooran@heraldcorp.com) (jyseo@heraldcorpcom)
CJ E&M sued in U.S. for illegal distribution of K-pop music
-CJ Group vice chairwoman expected to testify in $50 million lawsuit over illegal distribution of K-pop music
By Kim Hoo-ran and Seo Jee-yeon
CJ E&M, South Korea’s largest entertainment and media company, is facing a $50 million lawsuit in the U.S. for large-scale copyright-related violations, according to California court documents obtained by The Korea Herald.
Legal experts said the lawsuit is the biggest U.S. music copyright infringement case of the year in terms of the amount of damages sought.
Seoul-based Korean music agency DFSB Kollective filed a suit against CJ E&M and its U.S. arm CJ E&M America in March with the Central District Court of California.
The agency claimed the two firms committed copyright infringement and submitted false copyright management information on hundreds of K-pop songs to which it holds “exclusive’’ licenses to distribute overseas markets including the U.S. The music agency is represented by Hollywood entertainment law firm Browne George Ross.
The plaintiff said it had attained the international distribution rights for about 300 Korean songs by registering on behalf of the relevant Korean artists with the U.S. Copyright Office.
CJ E&M and CJ E&M America had submitted a motion to dismiss the case, calling the agency’s claims groundless, but the court rejected it and has set a jury trial date for March 1, 2016.
According to recent initial disclosures, several former and current CJ E&M executives including CJ Group vice chairwoman Lee Mie-Kyung, better known as Miky Lee in the global entertainment scene, are on the list of potential witnesses who will be asked to provide evidence and testify in the case.
As one of the most influential figures in promoting Korean pop culture overseas, the elder sister of CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun has led the group’s entertainment and media businesses ranging from music to TV dramas to films since 1995. Lee, who is a U.S. citizen, resides in California.
In the U.S. civil lawsuit, the plaintiff is claiming that while it was legally licensed to sell Korean songs in the U.S. on digital music stores such as Apple iTunes for $0.99 to $1.29 per download, the defendants committed copyright infringements by allowing international customers including U.S. users to access their Korean Mnet.com website and purchase the same Korean songs at price-dumped rates per download to even as low as free. Copyright holders’ returns become smaller as the download prices fall.
The case could set a precedent for protecting Korean music copyrights overseas as the plaintiff also added claims of Digital Millennium Copyright Act violations to its U.S. civil lawsuit.
On top of copyright infringement claims, DFSB Kollective has levelled allegations that since 2014, CJ E&M and CJ E&M America have provided incorrect copyright credits and altered industry-standard registration codes to Korean songs played on the California-based Beats Music streaming service. Apple owns Beats Music, having acquired the site last year.
The misconduct violates “content management information” under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Local legal experts say DFSB Kollective’s case is the first ever DMCA lawsuit filed against the Korean music industry giant.
“Unlike Korea, the U.S.’ DMCA law levies ‘punitive’ damages for misconduct involving copyrights in the digital domain,” said professor Lee Jae-Kyoung of Konkuk University Law School.
CJ E&M’s legal team said Wednesday via email exchange, “The complaints that the plaintiff filed are not true and so the company will fight against them without compromise until we are proven innocent.”
The company claimed it terminated the music download service to international customers in 2011 after it found “technical errors” that had allowed such downloads.
CJ E&M also said there is no irregularity in the distribution of Korean music in the U.S. via Beats Music through the “exclusive” distribution contact with the U.S. streaming site, signed last year.
Furthermore, CJ E&M accused DFSB Kollective of bringing to the U.S. the case that reached a settlement in the Korean court in 2012. In the breach of contract lawsuit, filed in 2011, DFSB Kollective sued for similar copyright management misconduct.
Regardless of the outcome of the current case, singers, songwriters and musicians have expressed frustration over seeing their creative works being distributed illegally at home and abroad by Korean distributors who call themselves Korean pop culture promoters.
The lead singer of a Korean indie band who discovered their albums were made available on Beats Music by CJ E&M and CJ E&M America without their knowledge or permission, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We are too powerless to fight against them to protect our creative works.”
(khooran@heraldcorp.com) (jyseo@heraldcorpcom)
