The largest copyright infringement payment in Korea was recently passed down.
A Korean music company, Fantom Entertainment Group, has been ordered by Judge Gu Hoe-geun the Seoul Central District Court to pay 300 Million Korean Won for copyright infringement of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII.
The material in question is a video of Korean singer Ivy that parodies a fight in the video game, which is arguably one of the most popular in the word, with 75 million copies sold since 1987.
Counsel for Square Enix, Yasuhiko Hasegawa, stated in a realease on Mar. 14, 2008,
We have been consistent in outhis lawsuit regarding the value of FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN and our FINAL FANTASY series, as well as the damages the company has suffered as a result of the modification and adaptation made without obtaining permission.
Following the conviction handed down by the Seoul Central District Court on December 6, 2007 with regards to the copyright infringement perpetrated by Fantom, a director of Fantom, and Mr. Hong Jeong-ho, we appreciate that the deliberate maliciousness of this act has been recognized in a public forum.
In addition, the amount of damages awarded us in this case is the largest the courts in South Korea have ever awarded in cases infringing one single work of art, and we also appreciate that the severity of the damage caused to the company by this infringement has been acknowledged.
Square Enix will continue to take decisive action against any infringements upon the Company’s intellectual property, recognizing that this property is one of our most crucial resources.
Square Enix claim the scene in question used without the company’s consent is a fight between Tifa and Loz in a church chapel. The similarities are uncanny.
The director and producer of the music video were each fined as well. Their only defence was that they wanted to obtain Square Enix’s permission, but couldn’t find their contact information.
We found it in 0.56 seconds here. They even have a regional contact:
Square Enix, Inc.
999 N. Sepulveda Blvd., 3rd Floor
El Segundo, CA 90245
support@square-enix-usa.com
(310) 846-0345
Perhaps basic search engine skills should be mandatory trainging for movie production.
