Forum seeks solutions to prevent unauthorized use of hit menus and fictional brands in K-content, foster joint growth with K-food industry
Unauthorized use of hit menus and fictional brands featured in K-content is on the rise.
The National Intellectual Property Committee, an advisory body under the president, is holding a forum Thursday at the Korea Intellectual Property Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to address the unauthorized appropriation of fictional trade names, food products and other creative works appearing in content. The event, titled "Field Communication Forum on Intellectual Property Issues Related to K-Food in K-Content," is chaired by Lee Chun-mu, head of the committee's IP Strategy Planning Division.
About 30 experts are expected to attend, representing the National Intellectual Property Committee, the Intellectual Property Office, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Intellectual Property Research Institute, the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency, the Korea Food Industry Association, the Korea Franchise Industry Association, the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. Four practitioners will present firsthand perspectives from the field.
From food and brands in K-content to real products — Jang Dong-seong, legal team, Nongshim
Jang Dong-seong of Nongshim's legal team will use the "Chapaguri" phenomenon from the film "Parasite" as a case study to introduce the "Modisumer" (Modify + Consumer) ecosystem, in which consumers go beyond company-prescribed ways of eating to create their own recipes. He will also highlight a key limitation: recipes themselves are not legally protected even when the food they describe becomes a global phenomenon. He will argue that rapidly securing intellectual property rights — including global trademarks — is the only effective tool against counterfeit products.
Where K-content meets K-food: brand collaboration and licensing from a content producer's perspective — Kim Se-chang, legal policy team, SLL Joongang
Kim Se-chang of SLL Joongang's legal policy team will explain that when content producers collaborate with food companies, the work flows in two directions: production sponsorship and product placement, where a brand enters the content, and commercial licensing, where the content's IP moves into the marketplace. He will note that while sponsorship and indirect advertising serve as a starting point for K-content and K-food industry collaboration, the scope of such partnerships — including permissible advertising — is constrained by regulation, making regulatory reform a prerequisite for deeper cooperation between the two sectors.
What if a brand from content became real? — Shin Dong-seok, senior researcher, Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency
Shin Dong-seok of the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency will present the commercialization and rights-protection story behind "Chocobi," the snack featured in the animated series "Crayon Shin-chan." Since its commercial launch in 2006, Chocobi has shipped a cumulative total of about 300 million units over 20 years, establishing itself as a landmark case in content-based commercialization — yet it has also faced serious IP infringement, including unauthorized trademark registration abroad and the distribution of counterfeit products. Shin will stress that sustained countermeasures are essential, including securing rights in advance, joint administrative enforcement by relevant agencies and criminal litigation.
Proposals for the joint growth of K-content and K-food — Jeon Jeong-hwa, research fellow, Korea Intellectual Property Research Institute
Jeon Jeong-hwa of the Korea Intellectual Property Research Institute will argue that for the content and agri-food industries to grow together, stakeholders must develop responses to five key issues surrounding food products and fictional brands introduced in content: who owns the rights, the risk of trademark squatting overseas, how risk is shared during collaboration, how revenue is divided between creators and companies, and what consumer protection measures are needed. As solutions, she will propose advance IP registration support for food featured in content, standard contract templates covering revenue-sharing arrangements between creators and companies or between companies, and a joint response framework for IP infringement.
"K-content and K-food are assets that simultaneously represent Korea's cultural and industrial competitiveness," Lee Chun-mu said. "Through this forum, we will gather broad input from field experts and develop policy alternatives with real-world impact."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
