K-Content Illegal Distribution Tripled in 4 Years

National Intellectual Property Committee Holds Countermeasure Meeting with Related Agencies and Companies on the 24th

In recent years, as Hallyu content has gained global popularity, illegal distribution has surged more than threefold. In response, government agencies are taking measures to address this issue.

The National Intellectual Property Committee under the President held the first Intellectual Property Protection Policy Council meeting of the year on the 24th, with participation from 10 ministries related to intellectual property protection enforcement, including the National Intelligence Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, National Police Agency, Korean Intellectual Property Office, and Korea Customs Service.

K-Content. Photo archive.

On this day, the Committee focused on discussing countermeasures against the rapid increase in overseas copyright infringement together with related ministries and private companies. In fact, requests to delete URLs of illegal K-content distribution sites surged from 105,405 cases in 2018 to 340,619 cases last year, more than tripling. Additionally, the global trade volume of counterfeit goods increased from $109.9 billion in 2000 to $464 billion in 2019, and damages caused by unauthorized preemption of Korean trademarks in countries such as China rose from 166 cases in 2018 to 4,654 cases last year, nearly tripling. Patent lawsuits involving domestic companies in the United States also increased from 187 cases in 2020 to 208 cases last year.

At the meeting, private companies such as LG Chem (Min Kyunghwa, Committee member) and Coupang (Kim Jongil, Committee member) participated to present specific cases of intellectual property infringement prevention and protection activities, and to discuss ways to enhance public-private cooperation.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to expand monitoring of illegal overseas distribution of K-content, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will relax policy insurance standards to reduce legal cost burdens for small and medium enterprises in technology disputes, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office will open a patent dispute risk alert system to strengthen infringement response. International cooperation will also be reinforced with Interpol, overseas intellectual property authorities, and foreign customs. Related ministries plan to provide full support as a united team to enable K-content and K-brands to drive exports.

Song Kyunghee, Director of the Intellectual Property Strategy Planning Division, stated, “In a situation where competition for technological supremacy is intensifying and concerns about investment contraction and export deterioration are rising, it is important to promote intellectual property protection strategies at the whole-of-government level.” She added, “We will strengthen protection policies together with related ministries to prevent domestic and international intellectual property infringement and ensure that our intellectual property becomes a core growth engine leading the world.”

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