Unauthorized Use of Group NRG Album Photo in Hair Loss Shampoo Ad... Company and CEO Fined

The photo is unrelated to the article content. [Image source=Pixabay]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The president of a cosmetics company was fined for using a photo of the group NRG's album without permission in a hair loss shampoo advertisement video.

According to the court on the 18th, Judge Yang Hwansung of the Criminal Division 3 at the Seoul Central District Court recently sentenced A (33, male), the CEO of the cosmetics company who was indicted for copyright infringement, to a fine of 1.5 million won. The corporation indicted alongside was fined 1 million won.

A, who operates a cosmetics manufacturing and sales company in Seoul, is accused of infringing copyright by unauthorized use of NRG's album photo in a YouTube advertisement video for hair loss shampoo at the company office.

According to Article 136, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1 of the Copyright Act, a person who infringes on copyright property rights by reproduction, performance, public transmission, exhibition, distribution, rental, or creation of derivative works may be punished by imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

During the trial, A's side denied the charges, arguing that "the two members (not the ones who acted as product models) were mosaic-processed to the extent that they could not be recognized, and the exposure time in the entire video was not long."

However, the first trial court found A guilty. After reviewing the evidence, Judge Yang stated, "It is recognized that the defendant used the plaintiff's copyrighted NRG album jacket photo without permission for commercial purposes," adding, "Although the group logo is not included in the posted photo, there is no difficulty in recognizing its identity."

He further said, "Considering the purpose of use, the type and use of the work, and the importance of the part used, it cannot be regarded as 'fair use of the work' as stipulated in Article 35-5, Paragraph 1 of the Copyright Act," and added, "Considering the defendant knew that if some members were exposed in the advertisement as in the photo, even with slight blurring of the face area, it would be problematic, and taking into account the nature of the album jacket photo, the defendant's intent is sufficiently recognized."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.