Netflix Hit “Woo Young-woo” Loses Even in Appeal Over Writer Revenue Lawsuit

Simultaneous OTT broadcasts aren’t a secondary use… “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” writer loses in appeal

In a legal dispute over the broadcast-revenue earnings of the K-drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, which sparked a global sensation, the writer’s side lost not only at the first instance but also in the appeal. The Seoul High Court, Civil Division 4 (presiding judge: Kim Woo-jin) dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal and upheld the original court’s ruling of loss in a monetary claim lawsuit filed by the “Korean Broadcasting Writers Association” against the production company “AceStory”.

The central issue in this trial was whether transmitting content through the “OTT” (online video service) platform constitutes “secondary use of a copyrighted work” that requires separate calculation of royalties. The court delivered a firm legal interpretation, ruling that the transmission in question does not qualify as a secondary use.

The appellate court noted that around the end of 2019—when the writing contract was concluded—“OTT” broadcasts had already become a universal form within the industry. It also cited as a key basis that the work was simultaneously released on the same date on both the main broadcast channel “ENA” and the global platform “Netflix”. This means that the “Netflix” service was delivered with essentially the same level of prominence as the main broadcast, and the court’s clear view was that it is difficult to treat this as a secondary use that transforms existing copyrighted material to generate separate revenue.