The lawsuit, submitted to the Seoul Central District Court on Feb. 11, follows years of what KOMCA describes as Wavve’s refusal to pay legally required royalties for the use of copyrighted music in its streaming content.
According to KOMCA, the unpaid fees were calculated based on Wavve’s reported revenue and subscriber data spanning from 2011 to 2022. The association is also demanding an additional 15 percent penalty for infringement.
“In a situation where there was no other way to remedy the creators’ damages, we had no choice but to resort to legal action,” KOMCA said in a statement.
The association further criticized major domestic over-the-top (OTT) operators for collectively amassing more than 100 billion won in unpaid royalties. Despite losing an administrative lawsuit against the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2022, KOMCA said, these companies have continued to resist payment obligations.
Wavve, however, countered that KOMCA’s claims were based on “unilateral and arbitrary” collection standards that do not reflect market realities. The streaming platform urged the association to return to negotiations.
The company argued that KOMCA has imposed disproportionately high music royalty demands on OTT services, forcing them to shoulder more than double the reasonable costs after lobbying for regulatory changes through the ministry.
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