Korea Music Copyright Association Proposes Directions for AI Copyright System Improvement

Chu Kayul, Chairman of the Korea Music Copyright Association, delivering a congratulatory speech at the Korea-China Academic Conference. Provided by the Korea Music Copyright Association

The Korea Music Copyright Association presented measures for copyright protection and the enhancement of creators' rights in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) at the "2025 Korea-China Intellectual Property Society International Academic Conference," held on the 7th at the Seoul office of the Korea Copyright Commission.

This academic conference, hosted by the Korea-China Intellectual Property Society, was held under the theme of "Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Protection." Approximately 30 participants attended, including academic and legal experts from Korea and China, as well as officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Copyright Commission. The attendees discussed the impact of AI technology on the copyright system and the need to improve regulatory and protection frameworks to reflect these changes.

Chu Kayul, Chairman of the Korea Music Copyright Association, stated, "The use of generative AI is transforming the creative environment and industrial structure." He emphasized, "It is necessary to clarify the roles of human creators and AI through transparent management of training data, a rational compensation system, and mandatory labeling of AI-generated works." He further added, "There is a need for Korea and China to strengthen cooperation in the field of intellectual property," and pledged, "We will ensure that discussions among industry, government, and academia lead to actual institutional improvements."

The presentation sessions were divided into two sections. The first section addressed legal issues arising from technological advancements, such as algorithm protection, litigation issues related to generative AI, protection of legal interests in the context of AI, and patent law issues concerning AI. The second section focused on specific topics, including the processing of AI training data, AI-based intellectual property management, and cases of prompt copyright infringement, suggesting directions for institutional improvement.

Paek Seungyeol, Head of the Business Division at the Korea Music Copyright Association, gave a presentation in the second section on the topic "Music Copyright & AI." Paek noted, "The proliferation of generative AI is changing the revenue structure based on existing creative works, and in this process, the economic status of human creators may be weakened."

He stated that, at the training stage, it is necessary to clarify the standards for permission and compensation for commercial AI training within the context of fair use and text and data mining (TDM) exemptions. At the output stage, he pointed out the difficulty in proving infringement due to the closed structure of AI models and proposed the establishment of standards for the identification and registration of AI-generated music.

Paek suggested as key solutions: mandatory disclosure of AI training data information, easing the burden of proof, and establishing mandatory labeling and registration standards for AI-generated works. He emphasized, "Since AI expands its functions by learning from human creative works, it is essential to establish a system in which appropriate compensation for the resulting works is fairly returned to the creators."

At this academic conference, participants discussed directions for revising the copyright system in response to changes in AI technology. The Korea Music Copyright Association plans to participate in institutional improvements to protect creators' rights based on its field experience in the music industry and to expand cooperation with overseas organizations, including those in China.

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