YOON&YANG

The court ruled that cable TV operators’ real-time re-transmission of terrestrial broadcasting programs is illegal and prohibited it.

In September 2010, in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by three terrestrial broadcasting companies, KBS, MBC and SBS, against five major cable TV operators including CJ Hello Vision, C&M, Hyundai HCN, and CMB Central Multi Broadcasting, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, citing, “Defendants should not re-transmit plaintiffs’ digital broadcasting signals real-time to their subscribers from December 18, 2009.”

The court explained, “Considering the cable TV operations of the defendants, their real-time re-transmission cannot be viewed as a supplementary act to help subscribers and defendants have infringed plaintiffs’ rights.”

This decision is significant for recognizing the copyrights of terrestrial broadcasting companies.  Yoon & Yang LLC representing the plaintiffs will lead the post-decision development including a possible settlement among the parties favorable to the terrestrial broadcasting companies.