S. Korean female band to get tough on overseas plagiarism

SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top female pop group Wondergirls plans to take legal action against several overseas entertainment firms for plagiarizing its hit song "Nobody," the group's agent said Friday.

"Several Asian entertainment companies in China, Thailand and Cambodia have been
making illegal profits off of 'Nobody' by remaking the song without permission
and copying the costumes and dance moves. This is going beyond a tolerable
level," Seoul's JYP Entertainment said in a press release.
Foreign companies that bought license rights to Wondergirls' albums, including
Thailand's GMM Grammy, suffered financial damage from the rampant spread of
pirated albums and plagiarism, the agent added.
As the so-called Korean Wave sweeps Asia, boosting the popularity of Korean pop
culture, Korean singers have increasingly fallen victim to plagiarism, especially
by Chinese singers. The cases were rarely taken to the court, however, as artists
here either took it as a sign of their popularity overseas or simply did not how
to initiate legal action.
JYP Entertainment said it will take further after discussions with Sony ATV,
which handles its overseas copyright management.