South Korea's Pinkfong wins 'Baby Shark' copyright fight

Agency,South Korea, Aug. 17: A popular "Baby Shark" song that South Korea's young children adore and their parents often find annoying is not plagiarized, South Korea's highest court ruled on Thursday.

The South Korean Supreme Court ruled the Pinkfong Co. did not plagiarize the song, as claimed in 2019 by U.S. children's songwriter Johnathan Wright, aka Johnny Only.

Wright accused Pinkfong of plagiarizing an earlier version of "Baby Shark" that he penned, but the South Korean court ruled his was just another version of several other existing songs.

The court said Wright is not the original composer and his version does not qualify as a "creative work" that is protected by intellectual property laws.

Wright allegedly penned the song's "doo doo doo doo doo doo" chorus and uploaded his version to the internet in 2011. Pinkfong uploaded its version of the "Baby Shark" song in 2015 and again in 2016.

That version became an international hit by setting a YouTube record with more than 10 billion views by 2022, which since has topped 16 billion.

Wright sought $21,600 in compensation when accusing Pinkfong of plagiarism in a Seoul court.