The Korea Music Copyright Association (chairman Lee Si-ha, hereinafter KMCA) introduced the "K-copyright model" to establish a creator-centered rights protection system on the international copyright stage as discussions to reorganize copyright order intensify with the spread of Generative AI.
At the CISAC board meeting held in Sydney, Australia, from March 4 to 5, Lee Si-ha, KMCA chairman, attended and shared the concept and implementation plan for the "K-music rights organizations' coexistence committee (hereinafter the coexistence committee)," a coalition of six domestic rights holder organizations centered on KMCA.
The CISAC board is the highest decision-making body that discusses CISAC's major policy directions; CISAC comprises 227 copyright organizations from 111 countries worldwide, and the board meets regularly to discuss global copyright policy and measures to protect creators' rights.
This meeting was held in Sydney hosted by APRA AMCOS of Australia and New Zealand to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Australian copyright organization APRA, and officials from major national copyright organizations such as the U.S. ASCAP, Japan's JASRAC, France's SACEM, Britain's PRS for Music, Germany's GEMA, and Canada's SOCAN attended. KMCA is one of the 20 CISAC board member countries and, along with Japan's JASRAC in Asia, participates as a board member, continuously playing a role in discussions on global copyright policy.
Chairman Lee's presentation to the CISAC board was made on the premise that creators should design a new copyright order themselves rather than respond passively to technological change amid the spread of Generative AI.
At the board, he emphasized the need to establish a proactive rights management system through cooperation among rights organizations to respond to the use of AI training data and the expanding structure of music use centered on global platforms, and explained plans to create a unified channel to respond to global platforms and to build data integration infrastructure centered on the coexistence committee.
He also introduced measures to strengthen operational transparency that were implemented shortly after his inauguration. He described management innovation cases to improve previously closed practices, such as disclosing the chairman's own royalty details and live-streaming KMCA board meetings on YouTube, and emphasized that this transparent mode of operation could serve as a positive foundation for building trust for international cooperation.
Taking the opportunity of attending the CISAC board meeting, a series of talks were also held with major national copyright organizations such as France's SACEM, Germany's GEMA, and Japan's JASRAC. Representatives of each organization expressed sympathy for the need for cooperation among rights organizations to respond to changes in the copyright environment in the AI era and exchanged views on building a data-driven rights management system and measures to respond to global platforms.
Lee Si-ha said, "It is meaningful that I could introduce our coexistence strategy and management innovations in person at my first CISAC board meeting as KMCA chairman," and added, "We will establish transparent management and coexistence infrastructure as a global standard to ensure the sovereignty of human creators in the AI era."
[Photo] Provided by KMCA
[OSEN]