On July 29th, the Seoul Central District Court put an end to the fight between YG Entertainment producer Teddy Park and Samyang Foods with the court ruling in favor of Samyang.
The problem began last March, when Samyang developed a new slogan to better advertise their ‘Nagasaki Champon’ noodle product.
Their slogan read, “Nae Ga Jae-il Jal Nagasaki Champon“, which is similar to the lyrics and title from 2NE1‘s “I Am The Best“.
Seeing this, YG Entertainment’s Teddy who produced and came up with the track requested copyright fees from Samyang for using his lyrics.
When Samyang failed to respond, Teddy filed an injunction with Seoul Central District Court to prohibit the public use of the lyrics for advertisement purposes. He said, “Samyang utilizing a slogan similar to the song title on various internet portal sites is an infringement of copyright.”
However, the court dismissed his request. They ruled, ”The title of a mainstream K-Pop song is difficult to be recognized as an original expression of an independent thought or emotion, and cannot be protected as a literary work. The song title expresses the simple idea that one has earned much popularity or has achieved societal success, and it’s difficult to conclude that it contains any inventive forms of expression worthy of protection.”
Netizens who heard the news responded saying, “The advertisement slogan is similar to 2NE1′s title, but it’s just a play on words that parodies Gag Concert’s play on words,” and “I think Teddy is overreacting.”
Source & Image: NewDaily via Nate
