[AI Impacting Popular Culture]④ Copyright Wars Have Begun, but Institutional Responses Are 'Still Pending'

Whose AI Movie Is It?
Early Stage of Korean AI Technology Use
Experts Say Legal Regulation Is Premature

Editor's NoteThe popular culture industry is actively utilizing AI (artificial intelligence) technology. The advantages include cost reduction in production and the creation of rich video content. It also helps overcome difficulties in filming child actors or animals. On the other hand, the more the popular culture industry uses AI technology, the more celebrities can be easily exposed to illegal advertisements using deepfakes or voice phishing. How far has AI technology permeated the popular culture industry? We take a look at the current status of AI technology utilization, its development potential, and institutional improvements.

[Image source=Pixabay]

"The AI (artificial intelligence) world presents tremendous opportunities for creators but will become an era of 'copyright wars.'" Lee Soo-man, former Chief Producer of SM Entertainment, recently predicted this in a speech at the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) General Assembly. The issue of 'copyright' for content created by AI is a major topic in the popular culture industry. Who holds the rights to works collaboratively created by humans and machines (AI)?

Who Owns the Rights to Films Created by Humans and Machines?

Discussions about "who owns the copyright of AI-created works" are active worldwide. So far, copyrights for scripts completed with AI assistance belong to humans. Dave Clark, a U.S. director known as a pioneer in AI films, believes that "if AI creates characters based on story structure and characters made by humans, it is reasonable that the copyright belongs to the creator (human)."

However, there can be issues where AI-generated results infringe on copyrights. Using data without the copyright holder's consent also violates copyright law. Yet, there are no clear legal standards to address this issue at present.

Countries that have early on applied AI technology to film production have recently recognized the seriousness of AI-related institutional issues and begun to set up discussion tables. In March, the European Union (EU) passed the world's first AI regulation law (AI Act). It strictly prohibits the collection of biometric information using AI and limits "social scoring," which evaluates individuals by scoring their personal traits and behaviors based on data.

The United States, which has the largest entertainment industry, has also actively voiced its stance. The U.S. requires production companies to obtain consent when using digital replicas of actors and has established guidelines to compensate based on the amount an actual actor would receive for work involving digital replicas. This is regarded as a leading example addressing publicity rights issues in the AI and digital transformation era.

They are taking a group photo after approving the tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to end the actors' strike.
[Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News]

In contrast, Asia has a different atmosphere. Even Japan, which has strict copyright laws, takes a cautious stance on related regulations. According to Japanese copyright law, the use of existing works for AI learning is not restricted only if it does not unfairly harm the interests of the copyrighted work. Although "unfair use" is considered to pose infringement concerns, it is difficult to judge due to the lack of clear specific cases.

First Domestic Copyright Registration Case: ‘AI Surobuin’

In Korea, the AI-generated film ‘AI Surobuin’ is the first case to have its copyright recognized. ‘AI Surobuin’ is an AI film produced by director Shim Eun-rok, who was responsible for the scenario, together with Nara AI Film, and was registered with the Korea Copyright Commission in December last year. However, it was registered as an "edited work," not a video copyright. An edited work refers to a collection of existing works, texts, voices, videos, etc., with creativity. While copyrights cannot be recognized for images generated by AI alone, the creativity of humans selecting, arranging, and composing AI-generated images was acknowledged.

There are no regulatory laws related to AI copyright in Korea. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Copyright Commission published the "Generative AI Copyright Guide" in December last year. It briefly covered considerations from the perspectives of businesses, copyright holders, and users, as well as domestic and international status.

A scene from 'AI Surobuin'

Experts Say "It's Too Early to Discuss AI Copyright"

In Korea, while there is consensus on the importance of AI technology that the popular culture industry can utilize, discussions for effective countermeasures are not active. Institutional improvements should keep pace with technological development, but many experts believe that the AI technology currently used in the popular culture industry does not yet warrant legislative strengthening of regulations.

At the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival's ‘AI International Conference’ held on the 5th, many industry insiders said, "We came because we are afraid of how the future market will change," and "The domestic market is different from the EU and the U.S., so it is too early to discuss AI copyright." They believe that legal regulatory discussions are premature at this early stage of AI technology adoption.

[Photo by BIFAN]

[Photo by BIFAN]

Rather than focusing on legal interpretations, the prevailing view is that attention should be paid to how production and distribution methods will change. Professor Lee Jin-jun of KAIST Graduate School of Culture Technology said, "'Whether it is AI or not' is less important than 'what work gives me the greatest emotional impact,' as aesthetics are evolving," and predicted, "The next generation will watch films through AI." Director Clark forecasted, "The important thing is the 'narrative,' and someday the term 'AI film' will disappear."