Newsletters
South Korea will permit creators to register copyright for songs made with AI assistance, provided a human played a substantial creative role such as writing lyrics, composing, or arranging the work, local media reported Wednesday.
The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) said songs generated entirely by AI from simple text prompts remain ineligible for registration, according to the Korea Herald.
The decision reverses KOMCA's earlier policy, under which the association withheld registration for AI-assisted works over concerns about potential copyright disputes and the absence of clear standards.
KOMCA said the change is intended to formally recognize AI-assisted creative practices while protecting the rights of human creators.
1 min read
Applicants are required to disclose which AI tools they used, explain how the tools were incorporated into the creative process, and certify that the submitted information is accurate.
If KOMCA requires further verification, it may request supporting materials such as digital audio workstation project files, editing histories, sheet music, prompt records, and AI generation logs to assess the extent of human authorship.
Producers may use AI to generate ideas, melodies, or arrangements but must be able to show that key creative decisions were made by a human.
Works later found to have been entirely AI-generated or registered with false information could face suspended royalty payments, repayment of royalties already received, and termination of trust agreements. KOMCA said it is also considering penalties of up to three times the improperly received royalties in cases of intentional misconduct or gross negligence.
The policy marks South Korea's first codified standard for registering AI-assisted music, bringing such works into the existing copyright system.
The human-authorship threshold mirrors the approach taken by the U.S. Copyright Office, which has held since 2023 that copyright protection requires meaningful human creative input and that AI output from prompts alone does not qualify.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
