Kcopa, MPA extend global anti-piracy pact

Korea's copyright watchdog will continue its partnership with the U.S. creators' guild, the Motion Picture Association (MPA), in an effort to protect global content copyrights.

The Korea Copyright Protection Agency signs an extension of a memorandum of understanding with U.S. trade association, Motion Picture Association, on Monday. [KOREA COPYRIGHT PROTECTION AGENCY]

Korea's copyright watchdog will continue its partnership with the U.S. creators' guild, the Motion Picture Association (MPA), in an effort to protect global content copyrights.

The two parties — the Korea Copyright Protection Agency (Kcopa) and MPA — agreed to extend their memorandum of understanding (MOU) during a signing ceremony on Monday.

The MPA is an association whose members include major content production companies and distributors, such as Walt Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Brothers.

In 2017, the MPA established the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a specialized organization that monitors illegal copyright infringement sites worldwide and takes necessary measures, such as blocking access to these sites, to safeguard intellectual property. ACE includes some 50 content production companies worldwide, including Walt Disney, Netflix, Sony, Fox and HBO. Kcopa is working closely with ACE to advance its global copyright protection efforts.

Kcopa and the MPA first signed an MOU in July last year. Based on this MOU, this year they successfully blocked a Thai-language website that illegally distributed some 6,400 pieces of video content, including Korean dramas and U.S. films, through a court order in collaboration with the Thai government.

Under the extended MOU, the two parties will share information to prevent digital piracy, host anti-piracy events, identify trends in copyright infringement, discuss solutions and raise awareness for the protection of intellectual property, said Kcopa.

They also plan to block six more illegal websites later this year, according to Kcopa.

“As copyright infringement is globalized today, there is a pressing need to establish a worldwide cooperation network for effective protection,” said Kcopa’s president, Park Jung-youl. "Through our collaboration with the MPA, we will achieve concrete results and strive to ensure that creators and consumers can distribute and enjoy content in a safe digital environment."

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]