The Givers announced that they received a complete victory in the legal dispute over the copyright of Fifty Fifty's "Cupid" against Attract.

Recently, Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 62, presided over by Director General Lee Hyun-seok, ruled in favor of The Givers in the copyright confirmation lawsuit filed by Attract against them, stating, "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and thus all are dismissed." Attract had previously filed a lawsuit claiming that they held the copyright of "Cupid" owned by The Givers and sought a transfer.

"Cupid" is a song performed by the rookie girl group Fifty Fifty, which gained global attention by charting on Billboard. However, a conflict arose over the ownership of the copyright between The Givers, who produced the track, and Attract, leading to litigation.

The core of this lawsuit was regarding "copyright," specifically "copyright ownership." Copyright ownership refers to the rights to commercially utilize music or to permit others to use it, and it serves as the basis for determining who has the authority to monetize independently of the fact of who created the song. The court focused its judgment on the issue of this copyright ownership.

Attract argued that the copyright of "Cupid" belonged to them; however, the court recognized that The Givers were the parties to the copyright transfer contract and that all substantive actions, including contract conclusion, negotiation, and expenses, were carried out through The Givers. The court notably stated, "Contract interpretation should be based on the text of the contract, not on the intent behind it," and ruled that The Givers' ownership of the creative rights was clear.

Attract claimed that the copyright transfer work was included in the service contract signed with The Givers, but the court ruled that "the relevant content is not specified in the contract, and in reality, The Givers proceeded with the contract with high risks as the creator's judgment." The court clearly assessed that Attract's release of albums using the master sound source and holding the copyright of the song are separate issues.

In this lawsuit, Attract additionally sought recognition as joint authors as a preliminary claim beyond copyright ownership, but the court dismissed this as well. The ruling recognizes The Givers' rights fully through the overall circumstances including the contract documents, negotiation parties, involvement in creation, and payment.

A representative of The Givers stated, "This ruling demonstrates that The Givers' efforts to correct the truth in a situation where false claims are repeated are justified," adding, "Amid confusion caused by unilateral claims not based on accurate facts, it is significant that the court clarified the rights relationships between the contracting parties." They continued, "The Givers has responded based on the facts from the beginning and hopes that this ruling will serve as an objective benchmark in similar cases in the future."

[Photo] OSEN DB, provided by The Givers

[OSEN]