Game Regulations being Enforced to Korean Children

Children in Korea, under the age of 17, are prohibited, according to a recent law, to be provided access to online games between midnight and 6AM. The law has forced online providers of games to shut their sites to children during these periods of time. A new law have been proposed restricting the use of video games by these children for more than two hours at one time and four hours in one day. The details and enforcement mechanisms for

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Korean Business/Service Marks Protection under the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act

Supreme Court Decision 2008Do5897 delivered on January 30, 2009【Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act】 Translation of Official Court Summary The appearance of a particular singer and unique actions of others are intangible and variable features close to an impression or image have little function as a fixed mark that differentiates a matter from another matter. If the particular appearance and action is to be regarded as a mark of a business and if the use of

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The Violation of Right of Publicity in Korea: Badminton Player Park Ju-Bong’s Case

Seoul Central District Court Decision 2007Gahap2393 delivered on November 28, 2007【Claim for Prohibition of Using Analogous Trademark】 Translation of Official Court Summary  Where the economic value, which is created by the name and portrait, etc. of internationally well-known former player of the national badminton team, is recognized widely among advertisement businesses and related businesses, the action of infringing the value shall constitute a tort under the Civil Act. Within the above limit of protection, the above player’s exclusive control over

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Definition of Defamation in Korea

Supreme Court Decision 97Da19038 delivered on February 27, 1998【Damages】 Translation of Official Court Summary  a. When a media, such as broadcast etc, defames one by presenting fact, the action has no illegality when the alleged fact is related to a public matter, the presention is intended solely for the public interest, and the alleged fact is proved to be true. In addition, even when the alleged fact is not proved to be true, but the presenter believes that the alleged

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Censorship Prohibited in Korea: Entertainment Law Cases in Korea

Constitutional Court Decision 93Hunga13 delivered on October 4, 1996【Request for Adjudication on Constitutionality of Motion Pictures Act Article 12, etc.】 Translation of Official Court Summary  a. Censorship noted in Constitution Article 21 Section 2 is in effect by authoritative power and is a measure of prevention, a system that prevents the iteration of unapproved ideas or opinions in order to control, by evaluating the content of ideas or expressions. Thus, censorship generally entails four requirements: obligation to submit for approval,

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Definition of Copyright in Korea: Ideas vs. Expressions

Supreme Court Decision 93Da3073 delivered on June 8, 1993【Damages】 Translation of Official Court Summary  a. The work protected by the Copyright Act shall be a creative work that expresses human thoughts and emotions, which is obtained by a human’s intellectual effort related to study and art, and thus what the Copyright Act protects is a creative expression form in which thoughts and emotions are expressed externally in detail by language, letter, sound, color, etc. The content of expression itself, such

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Definition of “Author” under Korean Copyright Act: Entertainment Law Cases in Korea

Over the next couple of weeks we will be publishing translations of the summaries of the 20 Leading Cases in Korean Entertainment Law.  The cases should be useful for entertainment law practitioners and should, also, be useful for those practicing copyright, trademark and general IP law. Supreme Court Decision 92Da31309 delivered on December 24, 1992 【Objection to Provisional Injunction】 Translation of Official Court Summary  a. Under the Copyright Act, the term “author” means a person who has created a work,

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PSY’s Korea Campaign Launches in Australia

A great marketing campaign for Korean tourism is underway with Psy at the helm. _____SeanHayes@ipglegal.com IPG is engaged in projects for companies and entrepreneurs doing business in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam and the U.S. www.ipglegal.com

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Music Tech Seminar in San Francisco Attended by Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes will be attending the Music Tech Seminar in San Francisco that will be taking place from April 27 to the 29th.  I suggest anyone interested in the music business to attend the Seminar. More information on the Music Tech Seminar may be found at: http://www.sfmusictech.com/ International Association of Entertainment Lawyers standard discount will apply.  ______info@ipglegal.com

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Great Article Today on the Success of K-Pop Abroad by the Korea Herald

We have worked with a leading entertainment company in Korea and this article, we feel, does a great job in summing up why Psy has been the, only, K-Pop star, to date, to be able to significantly capitalize on his talent in the States.  We wish more of the Korean entertainers would consider fostering the the skills that make the entertainers unique and not, simply, try to make an artist conform to what audiences are perceived to like.  Psy has

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Is K-Pop Sustainable? Tom Coyner by IPG’s Senior Adviser

For the past five years I have monitored with detached interest how Hallyu, or the Korean Wave has grown from a local pop phenomenon into an international trend. There is no denying it. The Korean Wave is huge. But by living in Korea, one could easily get the impression that the Korean Wave has taken the entire planet by storm and there is no telling where Korean culture will make its next global impact. But is this really the case?

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How Sustainable is the Korea-Pop Music Phenomenon?

Among the many topics that have surfaced during the past two months as I traveled about Ireland and the US West Coast, I settled on the below, current report as I have been thinking for months of writing a column on just what the Korea Wave or Hallyu may actually be or not be. Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) does a decent job in describing what are the results of Hallyu around the world.  The analyst provides a decent account

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Korea Leading the World in Aggressive Regulation of Game Use by Children

Children in Korea, under the age of 17, are prohibited, according to a recent law, to be provided access to online games between midnight and 6AM. The law has forced online providers of games to shut their sites to children during these periods of time. A new law have been proposed restricting the use of video games by these children for more than two hours at one time and four hours in one day. The details and enforcement mechanisms for

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IPG Member of International Association of Entertainment Lawyers

IPG attorney KS Chong is one of the leading lawyers in Entertainment Law in Korea.  He represents one of the leading entertainment businesses in Korea and many international artists and intellectual property owners.  KS Chong has, also, published the first book on Korean Entertainment and Media Law and numerous articles on entertainment and intellectual property law. The IPG has strengthened its position in the Korean market by being the only full member of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers in

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Seouliwood: Korea is the Leader in Film Content in East: Did I just coin a Word?

Korea is, with little doubt, the number one producer of quality film content in the East with Japan following closely behind Korea.  Korea is, also, one if not the leading producer of game and TV content in the East. However, Korea has not, to date, been a significant player in film and cinema hardware and production technology. A recently executed MOU between Lotte Group and the City of Los Angeles may assist in turning Korea into one of the largest

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Maximize Benefits of Korea’s FTAs with U.S. and EU via Legal and Business Consultants in Korea

IPG Legal is happy to announce the formation of the first team of professionals dedicated to providing clients advice and representation on how to maximize the benefits of the KORUS and KOREU FTAs for EU, U.S. and Korean companies. IPG has compiled a team of Korean and international attorneys, senior company executives, patent attorneys, accountants, recruitment professionals, business consultants, custom agents and other professionals to provide services to American and EU companies doing business in Korea under the KOREU and

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Ebay Gmarket Merger Approved by Korean Fair Trade Commission

The Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has approved the merger of  Ebay Auction with Gmarket. The companies combined, based on last years numbers, will control more than 72% of the domestic online shopping market. The remainder of the market is split, primarily by 11 Street  (SK Telecom unit) and Interpark. Ebay purchased Gmarket in 2009 for nearly USD 1.3 billion and was planning this merger, since the purchase. ___SeanHayes@ipglegal.com

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Korean Game Rating Board

www.ipglegal.com Article deleted.  Information in the article contained outdated information.Permalink will delete soon.  Sorry for the inconvenience. www.ipglegal.com  _________SeanHayes@ipglegal.com

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Yes -you can Win a Lawsuit in Korea against Entertainment Managment Companies

The Seoul Central District court ruled in favor of Han Keng, a former member of Super Juniors, a leading Korean pop group formed by SM Entertainment, in ruling that his contracts with SM Entertainment were null and void. The court opined that: “The exclusive contract between Han and SM Entertainment is considerably unfair to him as it is unilaterally advantageous to the management agency, which had superior leverage at the time of signing . . . Based on the precedent

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Rules to Change for Entertainment Spending

Chosun Ilbo Feb. 21, 2007The existing government regulation that requires a receipt for corporate entertainment spending exceeding 50,000 won will be tightened. Entertainment spending which will require a receipt will be lowered to 30,000 won in 2008 and 10,000 won in 2009. In response, businesses are expressing their anger against the government’s measure, saying it will increase the tax burden and add more work for them. They also argued that the government’s excessive intervention may lead to contraction of business

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