The popular entertainment program Anything Goes is under police investigation for allegedly using a drama OST as its opening music for six years without the original creator's consent.
The Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province recently announced that it is investigating the CEO of Mystic Story, the production company of Anything Goes, and KBSN, the broadcasting company, for copyright law violations.
The issue at hand is the opening music that has been used by the program from its first broadcast in February 2019 until February of last year, approximately six years. Investigations revealed that the team behind Anything Goes used parts of the OST "Garang Garang" from the drama Goddess of Fire, Jeongi, directly as audio. They are also facing allegations of modifying the audio by splicing it with other songs without the original creator's consent.
Procedural flaws in copyright protection have also been pointed out. It has been confirmed that the program did not notify the Korea Music Copyright Association of the use of the audio despite using it for an extended period. This not only infringes on the composer's economic rights but also raises concerns about violating moral rights through unauthorized modifications.
The original creator, composer Mr. Lee, first raised this issue in February of last year. At that time, Mystic Story acknowledged the oversight regarding the use of the audio and sent a response admitting fault, subsequently replacing the opening music. However, the past broadcasts available on rewatch services such as OTT still include the disputed music, leading to ongoing controversy.
In response to additional concerns raised by the original creator, the production company reportedly reversed its previous stance, stating that it did not reach the level of copyright infringement. KBSN, the broadcasting company, is also said to share the same position as the production company.
Currently, both KBSN and Mystic Story have stated that it is difficult to disclose specific positions as the investigation is ongoing, and they are showing a general attitude of cooperating sincerely with the investigation by relevant authorities. Given the long duration of the unauthorized use allegations, legal disputes over responsibility are expected to continue for the time being.
