WEBTOON introduced copyright protection efforts to APEC members
- WEBTOON was invited as a panel to APEC IPEG roundtable, cohosted by United States Trade Representative, United States Patent and Trademark Office, and U.S. Copyright Office.
- WEBTOON introduced Toon Radar and other copyright protection technologies developed by the company, and promoted the importance of copyright protection for digital comics and webnovel
WEBTOON promoted the importance of copyright protection for digital comics and webnovel at an event where global copyright policy managers gathered.
WEBTOON attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Roundtable of the Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group (IPEG) held at Palm Springs, California, U.S. on February 21st (local time). Invited as a representative of digital content companies providing digital comics and webnovel, WEBTOON gave a talk on its copyright protection technologies and the importance of such efforts for digital comics and webnovel.
The roundtable on Copyright and Creativity in the Digital Economy was held in connection with the 56th Meeting of IPEG, the Intellectual Property Rights Expert Group of APEC, cohosted by United States Trade Representative, United States Patent and Trademark Office, and U.S. Copyright Office.
In the roundtable, diverse individuals and organizations were invited from different parts of the creative industries relevant to copyrights, including publishing, photography, film, music, design, and content platform, so that the discussion would be of value to members of IPEG when considering copyright-related legislation, regulation, or enforcement mechanisms, as well as the possible adoption of best practices documents or capacity building activities. Copyrights and IP policy makers of APEC member countries also joined the discussion on the importance of copyright protection in the digital economy, which included participants from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea and the Content Overseas Distribution Association of Japan.
WEBTOON was invited as a global company to represent the content business serving digital comics and webnovel, and introduced Toon Radar, WEBTOON’s unique illegal distribution blocking technology, and other copyright protection efforts implemented by the company.
Toon Radar is an independently developed identification and blocking technology that detects the first leaker and blocks illegal distribution by inserting invisible identification information in digital comics. The technology was implemented in 2017 to detect infringing copies in Korea and abroad. According to WEBTOON, the estimation of economic value from Toon Radar’s copyright protection by delaying illegal circulation is equivalent to KRW 200 billion annually at the least. When the preemptive prevention of illegal distribution is included, the amount is expected to reach KRW 300 billion.
In an effort to promptly respond to copyright infringement, WEBTOON has entered into partnerships with several companies specializing in search words blocking and illegal content distribution monitoring in Korea and abroad, as well as formed an in-house organization specialized in intensive social media monitoring and a copyright infringement response TF.
An official from WEBTOON said, “The roundtable gave us an invaluable opportunity to share the importance of global copyright protection for digital comics and webnovel with those in charge of copyright and IP policy in the Asia-Pacific region. To eliminate damages from copyright infringement and safeguard the interests of our creators, WEBTOON will further strengthen protection measures which include both technical interventions and non-technical efforts.”
Deputy Director Hyeyoon Choi of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea, who participated in the roundtable discussion as a representative of Korean government, said, "WEBTOON is invited as a content industry representative from Korea as it is a global company leading the industry of digital comics and webnovel around the world, based on its significant presence in Korea, Japan, and the United States. WEBTOON has been of great help in informing the policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region of the seriousness of copyright infringement against Korean digital comics and webnovel, and in requesting assistance to investigate such unlawful practice.”