9th Overseas Intellectual Property Protection Council Held... Discussing Response Measures to K-Content Copyright Infringement

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on November 6 that it will hold the 9th Overseas Intellectual Property Protection Council.

The Overseas Intellectual Property Protection Council is a public-private consultative body launched under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in October 2019 to develop cooperative measures for effectively responding to copyright infringements of K-content occurring overseas. The 9th council will include seven central government agencies, such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and the National Police Agency. In addition, nine public institutions, including the Korea Copyright Protection Agency, and 18 private associations and organizations, such as the Copyright Overseas Promotion Association, will participate.

At this council, the government and public institutions will share with the private sector the main policies and response measures currently being implemented to protect the overseas intellectual property of the content industry. Meanwhile, the private sector will deliver on-site opinions from industry professionals to the government and public institutions.

Infringements of overseas content intellectual property, including illegal distribution of K-content, are becoming increasingly globalized and sophisticated, crossing borders online and utilizing the latest technologies. As overseas consumption of K-content rises, the content industry is facing growing damage not only from copyright infringements such as music, games, publications, software, and broadcast format plagiarism, but also from the distribution of counterfeit goods such as 'Myutz' and trademark violations.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated that through the 9th council, the government and public institutions will strengthen the effectiveness of their response to overseas intellectual property infringements by communicating with various content associations and organizations. The ministry also added that it plans to regularly convene the Overseas Intellectual Property Protection Council to further develop comprehensive government policies for protecting content intellectual property overseas and to expand public-private cooperation by incorporating feedback from the content industry into government response policies.

Vice Minister Kim Youngsoo said, "This council is meaningful in that it brings together the public and private sectors, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, to join forces in protecting and responding to infringements of overseas intellectual property, including copyrights." He added, "Through the Overseas Intellectual Property Protection Council, we will listen to real voices from the field and work together with the private sector so that the success of K-content can lead to economic returns and reinvestment, and we will continue to develop sustainable growth strategies."

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