Coupang Wins 'Hansan' Director's Cut Dispute: "Only Considered a Copy of the Original Film"

"Lotte Violated Obligation to Provide and Guarantee Exclusive Service"

The court ruled in favor of Coupang in the legal dispute over the director's cut service of the movie 'Hansan: Rising Dragon.'

According to the film industry on the 21st, the Civil Division 63 of the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff (Coupang) on the 23rd of last month in a lawsuit filed by Coupang against Lotte Cultureworks for the return of usage fees. The two parties signed an exclusive service contract for 'Hansan: Rising Dragon' for 12.5 billion KRW in 2022, but Lotte Cultureworks provided the director's cut 'Hansan Redux' to Netflix several months later, leading to a legal dispute. Lotte Cultureworks had previously signed an exclusive contract with Netflix to provide domestic subscription-based video-on-demand (VOD) licenses for films with over 300,000 viewers since 2020.

Coupang argued that since it had an exclusive service contract for the movie on its online video service (OTT) Coupang Play, 'Hansan Redux' should not be released on other OTT platforms. Lotte Cultureworks countered that 'Hansan Redux' was a separate secondary work. The court judged that the director's cut was not a secondary work but merely a reproduction. It stated, "Providing the director's cut to Netflix constitutes a breach of the obligation to grant and guarantee the plaintiff exclusive service rights."

Accordingly, Lotte Cultureworks must pay Coupang 5 billion KRW. Additionally, it must pay interest calculated at an annual rate of 12% from February 10, 2023, until full repayment. Lotte Cultureworks filed an appeal on the 18th.

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