Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Gov't to issue AI copyright guidelines amid growing legal disputes
gettyimagesbank
By Baek Byung-yeul
The government will publish new guidelines on the copyright of contents produced by generative artificial intelligence (AI) at the end of June to address escalating global copyright disputes and mounting legal and policy challenges driven by the rapid adoption of AI in creative industries.
On Friday, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with the Korea Copyright Commission, convened the second meeting of the AI-related copyright system improvement council to discuss legal uncertainties surrounding the use of copyrighted materials for AI training and the copyright status of AI-generated outputs.
Launched in March, the council brought together representatives from the AI industry, rights-holder organizations, academia, legal experts and government officials. Its primary goal is to address emerging copyright issues in the AI era and propose legislative reforms.
The ministry said discussions covered insights from sub-committees and the latest international trends during the meeting. Notably, they reviewed two draft guides — one set for copyright registration of generative AI works and the second for preventing copyright disputes from generative AI outcomes.
“These upcoming guidelines will help AI businesses, rights holders and users resolve some of their questions about generative AI and copyright,” Jung Hyang-mi, director general of the copyright bureau of the culture ministry, said.
The registration guidelines will cover whether AI-generated results can be copyrighted and provide instructions for copyright registration, such as who can register and the effects of registration. The dispute prevention guidelines will outline basic legal principles for judging copyright infringement.
The guidelines will also examine factors to consider when assessing copyright infringement by generative AI results and provide guidance for rights holders, users and AI businesses on how to prevent disputes.
The two draft guides reviewed at the plenary meeting will be finalized after a public briefing and opinion gathering session on June 20, with official publication slated for the end of June, the ministry added.
The urgency of these efforts is underscored by high-profile legal actions overseas. On Wednesday, two U.S. media giants — Disney and Universal — filed a landmark lawsuit against AI image generator Midjourney in a California federal court, alleging copyright infringement involving iconic characters from Star Wars, The Simpsons, Shrek and Minions.
They claimed that Midjourney’s AI system was trained on their copyrighted works and is producing unauthorized reproductions, despite repeated requests to cease such activities.
This case is the first of its kind brought by major Hollywood studios against an AI company, highlighting the growing tension between technology firms.
Korea is also expected face similar challenges as concerns are growing over whether AI-generated works can be copyrighted and how to balance innovation with the protection of intellectual property. “The ministry will continue its efforts to make copyright information more accessible,” the ministry’s director general added.