Plagiarism under disguise of homage

Seen above is a photo from a spread included in the magazine W Korea that girl group 9muses referenced for their album’s cover image. The spread was published in 2012. / Korea Times file

By Kwon Ji-youn

Last August, Hyuna, a member of girl group 4 Minute, became a hot topic for netizens when it was revealed that the lyrics to one of her songs had been plagiarized.

“From Where to Where,” a song from the 22-year-old’s third mini album, took lyrics straight from a track on group g.o.d’s sixth album, “The Reason Opposites Attract,” word for word.

Lim Hyun-sik, the song’s lyricist and a member of boy band BTOB, explained on his Twitter:

“I took a couple of lines of ‘From Where to Where’ from g.o.d’s song to pay homage to the veteran K-pop group,” he said.

But this wasn’t enough to stamp out the fire, and the song was soon pulled from all music service websites.

The word “homage” has become something of a habit among Korean artists who have allegedly plagiarized the creations of other artists. Though there have been concerns that this tendency may continue, there is not much that can be done about it legally.

Legal action against homage

According to lawyer Hong Sae-uk of law firm Sung-Yul, there is a need to differentiate “homage” and “plagiarism.”

“In truth, there are no real legal precedents regarding ‘homage’ art,” Hong said. “Simply said, if it is not paying homage to someone or something, it is plagiarizing.”

Hong, who is also the legal advisor for the Korea Music Copyright Association, said that the most significant difference between the two is that if an artist is paying homage to another artist, they are not punishable under civil or criminal law.

“It cannot be seen as an infringement of copyright, nor can it be seen as plagiarism, if it is meant to pay tribute,” he said.

Seen above is girl group 9muses’ album cover image. / Korea Times file

Hong listed three requisites that determine whether an artist has intended to pay homage to another artist.

Firstly, if parts of a film or play, like lines or props, have been taken from another film, but the rest is original, then it is not considered plagiarism. Secondly, if the subject of the homage is a celebrated artist, one who most would know at the mention of their name, it is not regarded plagiarism.

“Most importantly, the work that has referenced another’s must show respect to the original artist,” Hong said. “If it does not fall under these three categories, it is likely the artist has plagiarized.”

Hong said the problem with idols these days is that they are using this excuse to avoid legal responsibility for their actions.

“If you have received permission to use someone’s work, then it cannot be considered plagiarism,” he said. “Legally, they are not obligated to mention the original artist when unveiling their own art to the public.

“In Hyuna’s case, she and the lyricist did not receive permission from the original artist, which could result in a fine of up to 50 million won or up to 5 years in jail in accordance with article 136 of the copyright law,” he added. “But the problem is that unless the original artist reports of such plagiarism, the plagiarists cannot be punished.”

Homage or plagiarism?

Girl group 9muses came under fire last week when netizens pointed out their album’s cover photos resembled a spread in the fashion magazine W Korea. The spread was published in 2012.

Wouldn’t you know _ Star Empire, the group’s agency, explained they had meant to pay homage to the photographer of the magazine spread, and that they had made prior arrangements with the photographer.

But W Korea on Jan. 15 refuted such claims, to which Star Empire issued a hasty apology. W Korea said Tuesday they are discussing whether to take legal action against Star Empire.

Last December, some claimed that the outfits members of Girls’ Generation had worn at one year-end music festival had plagiarized the designs of “Dolce and Gabbana,” an Italian luxury industry fashion house. SISTAR’s music video for “I Swear” looked to have taken ideas straight from DJ Tiesto’s “Red Light” video, and netizens slammed group T-Ara’s Hyo-min for the plagiarism in her teaser for her song “Nice Body.” One scene looked as though it had been copied and pasted from American recording artist Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” music video.

“Homage” excuses are as common in the film and drama industries.

Netizens lashed out at the production crew for KBS drama “Spy,” which in its poster had referenced that of “Leon.” The crew explained that the poster had meant to pay homage to the 1994 film, but decided to scrap it.

In 2006, netizens argued that singer Lee Hyo-ri’s song “Getcha” too closely resembled Britney Spears’ “Do Somethin’.”

At the time, Lee’s agency denied such allegations, but Lee was unable to stage “Getcha” on television. Though lyricist Kim Do-hyun explained that the similarities had been a result of an attempt to pay homage to the creators of “Do Somethin’,” netizens claimed that to pay homage, the song needs to have existed for quite some time. “Do Somethin’” was included in Spears’ 2004 album, “Greatest Hits, My Prerogative.”

But there are entertainers who stick to the true meaning of “homage.

YNB Entertainment, which represents duo Almeng, announced prior to the duo’s comeback that the moves to their new song hope to pay homage to that of former pop group Two Two. Actresses Go A-ra, Jo Yeo-jung and Chae Si-ra took part in a photo shoot that paid tribute to the late Audrey Hepburn, all profits of which were donated to the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund. Singer Lee Juck paid tribute to the Beatles in his fifth album, and Crush, to Michael Jackson in his first album. Both Lee Juck and Crush announced prior to the release of their albums that they had included tracks that intended to pay homage to said artists.

Follow Kwon Ji-youn on Twitter @jennajykwon