Understanding Intellectual Property for Media Startups

Intellectual Property (IP) infringement is a complex and expensive issue facing most businesses in almost every industry, none more so than media where the lines have become blurred on what is honest use and what’s ‘purposeful infringement’. Often, a startup’s naivety and limited resources means they tend to overlook this issue much to their detriment. To understand more, we attended a panel discussion organized by The Korea Society & KOTRA featuring experts in the area including;

• Seung Bak, CEO and co-founder of DramaFever
• David Yung Ho Kim, Lead Entertainment Attorney at The Hollywood Lawyer
• Brian Lee, Partner at SKIG (Incubator for new media startups)

While we have summarized our key takeaways below, a recording of the discussion is available here.David Yung spoke about how new media companies today are no longer just a startup, they’re also a studio, a production house and distribution center and many more ‘niche business’ thanks to technology. As such they must conform with regulations enforced for each industries which can be complex. An example of a typical case he deals with was a standard scene shot in someone’s residence and in the corner of the room was a box of Monopoly on the shelf. As the company had not sought permission to use the Monopoly trademark, a legal dispute ensued taking a month to resolve. Interestingly, younger attorneys are becoming more prevalent in dealing with such issues in the digital sector as these as older ones aren't aware of the technology and loopholes that exist. The thin line between stealing & promotingRemarketing content is becoming a huge revenue source for IP owners through royalties, often surpassing the revenue generated from the original content. However there is a thin line between stealing & promoting content. YouTube are helping creators track their content with content ID. The new technology identifies where your content Is being used so you can judge whether this was authorized or not. The future? The industry is growing exponentially. Figuring out how to expand and scale without wasting time and money to be compliant is a huge challenge. The rules are antiquated and aren't keeping up with the pace of change in the industry. Periscope, for example is a whole new frontier which is exploding and no-one knows how this will affect this issue yet as the technology is so new. Furthermore, the content is becoming global meaning there’s infringement in different territories. Youku is the YouTube of China and by distributing content here, startups are open to litigation in various jurisdictions which can be costly to resolve.Interested to learn more? The recording is available hereBackground on the speakers Seung Bak is the CEO and co-founder of DramaFever, the leading online destination for international television shows and movies. Seung led the company since its inception in 2009, including a sale to SoftBank in 2014 at greater than 10x invested capital.  Prior to founding DramaFever, Seung was Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Capital IQ, a leading provider of information services to the global financial community. Seung served a variety of marketing, sales, strategy, finance, and operational roles in helping Capital IQ grow from a seed stage startup to a $400+ million revenue business. Previously, he was an investment banker at CapitalKey Advisors, the precursor to Capital IQ, where he advised venture-stage and middle-market companies. Seung is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization NYC Chapter. Seung earned a BA in Economics from the University of Rochester. David Yung Ho Kim is the Lead Entertainment Attorney at The Hollywood Lawyer in Los Angeles, and practices in the areas of film, television, music, new media, licensing and talent representation. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley as a Regents' & Chancellor's Scholar, with cum laude honors in History, he then moved to study law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva), the nation's premiere Jewish institution with one of the top-ranked entertainment and IP law programs in the nation, where he served as the school's first non-Jewish student body president. With an eclectic background of employment and experiences in litigation, copyright law and in-house counsel work as an entertainment attorney for past employers such as the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, CJ Entertainment America, and East West Artists, David now spends most of his time negotiating deals, drafting contracts and advising companies and talent in areas related to media and entertainment. When he’s not working, David loves meditating, doing yoga, playing the piano and loving on people, be it family, friends, or strangers. Brian Lee is a Partner at SKIG, a NYC-based accelerator focused on helping early- stage companies scale audience and revenue. Prior to SKIG, Brian was General Manager and Vice President at Maker Studios, the worlds premiere multi-channel network. At Maker Studios, Brian led the Music and Merchandise divisions from conception all the way through to its eventual $500M acquisition to Disney in 2014.  As Head of Music, Brian oversaw all of its departments including, network partnerships, original programming and audience development. His success as GM was rooted in his ability to converge traditional music industry stars such as Snoop Dogg, Will.i.am , and Far East Movement with up and coming YouTube talent such as Christina Grimmie, Mike Tompkins, and the Epic Rap Battles of History.  Prior to his role at Maker Studios, he was founder and CEO of Knocksteady, a digital content and social merchandising company based in Los Angeles. Knocksteady served as the precursor to both Maker Music and Shop.Maker.Tv and was acquired by Maker Studios in 2012. Brian earned a Bachelors of Arts in both Political Science and International Relations from the University of California Irvine.