Yesterday, on 13 August, it was reported that a search raid was conducted at YG Entertainment. The investigation was about G-Dragon and the company’s former CEO and founder, Yang Hyun Sik. The two were allegedly accused of plagiarism by an anonymous music composer going by the pseudonym ‘A’. However, today, a representative of the Korea Music Copyright Association has come out to reveal that the search and seizure operation reports are false. Read on to know more about the situation.
What Did The Media Say About G-Dragon’s Copyright Lawsuit
According to the famous Korean media outlet Dispatch, it is true that music composer ‘A’ is pursuing a lawsuit against G-Dragon and Yang Hyun Sik over violation of copyright violation. A search raid by the police has not been conducted at YG Entertainment regarding this lawsuit.
The music composer has claimed that the two accused have recorded and distributed their original work, that is, the song ‘G-dragon released in 2001, without his exclusive consent. G-Dragon was previously released as a part of a hip-hop compilation album in 2001, where ‘A’’ was credited as its lyricist and composer. Then, in 2010, G-Dragon released a different version of this song as part of a live concert album and gave the song a different name, ‘I’m 13’.
However, it is important to note that despite rebranding the song and re-releasing it on another album, G-Dragon has not been listed as a lyricist or composer in the credits of the song. Thereby, he is not entitled to receive any royalty for the track. This is the reason why the Korea Music Copyright Association does not believe the copyright violation suit filed by ‘A’ is valid. The representative further commented, “Some news outlets reported that a search and seizure operation was conducted, but those reports are false.”
YG Entertainment’s Response
YG Entertainment has also explained the reason behind changing the name of the track. They said that it was done to prevent confusion from another song of the same name, “G-Dragon (feat. Perry)”, also released in 2001 and then re-released as a part of the live concert album.
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Although no search raid was done at YG Entertainment, an active investigation is, however, being held by the Seoul Mapo Police into the copyright violation lawsuit filed by ‘A”.