In May 2013, celebrities discovered that Naver was offering a shopping mall search service that used their names without permission. For example, the phrases would be 'Bae Yong Joon style eyeglasses' and 'Girls' Generation style one-piece.' Consequently, the celebrities sued the portal site on the grounds that it violated their right to publicity. The sum for the lawsuit is reaching 1.2 billion won (~ 1 million USD).
A total of 59 celebrities are involved in the lawsuit, including Bae Yong Joon, Kim Nam Gil, Soo Ae, Jang Dong Gun, miss A, 2PM, Wonder Girls, BoA, TVXQ, Girls' Generation, and other artists under SM, JYP, and YG.
However, these celebrities lost the case against Naver according to the Seongnam Branch of Suwon District Court & Public Prosecturos' Office on January 22. The justice department stated, "There is the need to acknowledge the right to publicity that could have an economical effect through the usage of celebrities' faces and names. However, it is difficult to view this as a violation of that right based on keyword searches because there is no rule according to current legislation."
In addition, these celebrities had sued not only Naver but 10 other portal sites that deal with internet shopping malls, such as Daum. People are curious as to whether this first ruling will influence the other cases, as well. Stay tuned for updates.
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