Korean Supreme Court rules 'Baby Shark' not a case of plagiarism; scores victory for Pinkfong in 3 Million copyright case

After a six-year battle, the South Korea's Supreme Court has ruled that Pinkfong's hit children's song 'Baby Shark', is not a case of plagiarism. The dispute began when American composer Jonathan Robert Wright alleged that Pinkfong's 2015 Korean version, and the latter 2016 English version, were copied from his 2011 arrangement of the folk tune. He demanded damages of about ₩3 million. But, according to the court's ruling, both his work and Pinkfong's are rearrangements of a traditional song with no single copyright owner. According to the judgment reported by Yonhap News, Wright's version lacked enough originality to be considered a secondary copyrighted work. The Korean Copyright Commission's evaluation, cited by the court, found that his 2011 song added only instruments like electric guitar and synthesizers to a melody already sung for generations in camps and classrooms. Under Korean law, familiarity and widespread oral tradition outweighed his claim to exclusive ownership. Pinkfong (then SmartStudy) gave 'Baby Shark' its now-iconic "Ah~ gi shark, doo roo doo roo" hook and bouncy animation in 2015, followed by a bubbly English version in 2016. That version went from a local children's song to world's most-viewed YouTube video in November 2020, and in January 2022, it became the first video ever to surpass 10 billion views (YouTube public data). The Supreme Court's verdict, grounded in legal reasoning but resonating with playgrounds worldwide, protects Pinkfong's adaptations while affirming that some songs are part of humanity's collective memory.