'BTS Face and Voice Royalties to Be Collected'... Government Announces Legislation for 'Publicity Rights' Introduction

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Famous figures from various fields, such as Son Heung-min and BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan), will soon be able to sign contracts separately for portrait rights and receive usage fees when entering into advertising or affiliation agreements in South Korea. The rights to celebrities' names, faces, voices, and so forth will be explicitly stated in the law, requiring payment for their use. This is expected to have a significant ripple effect on markets where celebrities are mainly active, such as popular culture and sports, drawing considerable attention.

The Ministry of Justice announced that from the 26th until February 6th of next year, it will publicly propose a Civil Act amendment to establish the "right to commercially use personal identifiers," which grants individuals the right to commercially exploit personal identifiers such as name, portrait, and voice. After thoroughly collecting opinions from the public and experts during this period, the finalized amendment will undergo review by the Ministry of Government Legislation, followed by procedures involving vice ministers and the Cabinet meeting, and is scheduled to be submitted to the National Assembly in the first half of next year.

The right to commercially use personal identifiers, commonly known as portrait rights, is the right of a person to commercially use personal identifiers such as portraits, names, and voices that can identify themselves. It is also called the publicity right. The amendment aims to codify this right in the Civil Act. Each individual will have the right to permit others to commercially use their personal identifiers, and this right will be inheritable and last for 30 years after death. The amendment also recognizes the right to request removal and prevention when the right is infringed.

Countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan, China, and France have recognized this right through laws or precedents, but South Korea has had a judicial gap due to insufficient related regulations. There have only been court precedents recognizing the right in individual cases. Since the first mention of publicity rights in the 1995 September "Dr. Lee Whi-so Novel" case and the 1997 August "Joo Byung-jin - James Dean" case, courts have recognized this right in several cases where entertainers and athletes claimed damages due to rights infringement. The "Dr. Lee Whi-so Novel" case involved the family of the late Korean-American physicist Dr. Lee Whi-so filing a provisional injunction against the author of the novel "The Rose of Sharon Has Bloomed," claiming unauthorized use of Dr. Lee's name and portrait infringed on publicity rights. The court first presented the concept of publicity rights as "a right commercially recognizing matters belonging to the privacy of a famous person’s name, portrait, etc., which have property value." In October 1994, the great-grandcousin of famous American actor James Dean filed a lawsuit against comedian Joo Byung-jin and his clothing company for infringing on the publicity rights related to "James Dean." The first trial recognized publicity rights as a property right distinct from portrait rights, based on the laws of 22 U.S. states and the earlier Lee Whi-so ruling.

The Ministry of Justice explained the purpose of the amendment by stating, "With recent social changes where anyone can become famous through social networking services (SNS) and video platforms and commercially utilize their personal identifiers, the law reflects these societal changes," adding, "Related disputes have also increased significantly."

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