Partnership between KBS and Naver stirs up copyright battle in the realm of Korean broadcasting AI
In a move that has sparked debate within Korea's broadcasting industry, South Korea's public broadcaster KBS and tech company Naver have joined forces to explore next-generation media workflows powered by generative AI. The partnership, announced on July 24, 2021, has been met with concern due to ongoing copyright disputes between KBS, MBC, SBS, and Naver.
The collaboration between KBS and Naver involves generating AI-assisted documentary dramas focused on modern Korean history, developing disaster response tools, and creating AI-generated subtitles and descriptive audio tracks for accessibility. However, the current status is that these copyright disputes remain a significant issue amid growing collaborations.
Broadcasters such as KBS, MBC, and SBS have long expressed concerns about the unauthorized use of their content for AI training. In January 2021, KBS, along with MBC and SBS, filed lawsuits against Naver, accusing the company of violating copyright and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act by scraping and using broadcast news footage without consent.
Lee, a representative from the broadcasters, stated that the lawsuit is a strategic move to bring these issues to the negotiating table with Naver. He believes that there needs to be a more legitimate framework for how their content is used. Despite individual agreements like the one between KBS and Naver, broadcasters may view them as a pragmatic path toward a workable solution.
Naver will supply its AI technology solutions to KBS, while KBS will provide content and educational resources. For instance, KBS will use Naver's video analysis tool, MAIU, to mine archival programming for reimagining into new formats using HyperClova X, Naver's in-house generative AI model.
However, the lawsuit cites both copyright infringement and unfair business practices, and AI development is increasingly leaning toward models that rely on real-time web search, which will inevitably pull from broadcasters' news output. This has led to broadcasters proposing AI news usage fees as a potential compromise between tech companies and media outlets.
The Korea Broadcasters Association, led by the legal and intellectual property teams of the three broadcasters, framed the suit as a critical step in setting legal and ethical boundaries for AI's use in journalism. An anonymous broadcaster official stated that the Naver-KBS partnership could be seen as an attempt by Naver to peel off individual broadcasters to weaken the broader legal effort.
Lee Sung-min, an associate professor, stated that broadcasters aren't necessarily opposed to AI, but they are concerned about the potential decline in news traffic due to AI infringing upon and disrupting their established business model. The ongoing copyright disputes cast a shadow over the partnership between KBS and Naver, highlighting the need for a resolution that balances the interests of both parties.
In light of these developments, Naver leads a government-supported sovereign AI initiative aiming to develop domestic AI foundational models under strict consideration of copyright and security issues. Naver Cloud’s leadership in this project also emphasizes their experience in addressing copyright as a core challenge in generative AI development within Korea. The disputes are ongoing within a broader context of collaboration and national AI development efforts, with copyright issues recognized but not yet fully settled publicly.
- The partnership between KBS and Naver, focused on next-generation media workflows, has been met with concern by other broadcasters due to ongoing copyright disputes, with KBS, MBC, and SBS having filed lawsuits against Naver.
- Despite the collaboration between KBS and Naver, broadcasters may view such partnerships as a potential threat to their established business model, as AI development is leaning toward models that rely on real-time web search, which could infringe upon their news output.
