Seoul: South Korea’s Supreme Court has dismissed a US composer’s plagiarism claim against the makers of the global children’s hit Baby Shark, bringing an end to a six-year legal battle.
The court upheld rulings siding with Pinkfong, the South Korean company behind the viral tune with the iconic ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo’ refrain, streamed billions of times worldwide. Jonathan Wright, known professionally as Johnny Only, recorded a version of Baby Shark in 2011 based on a traditional children’s folk song.
Pinkfong released its version in 2016, which went on to become a cultural phenomenon. Wright argued that he held copyright to his interpretation, while Pinkfong maintained its version was simply another arrangement of a public-domain folk song.
The Supreme Court concluded that Wright’s rendition had not reached a level of substantial alteration from the original folk tune to qualify as a separate copyrighted work.
Pinkfong’s Baby Shark skyrocketed in popularity after its YouTube release, featuring cheerful hand gestures for children to dance along. It became the most-viewed YouTube video in November 2020 with over seven billion views, and in January 2022, it surpassed 10 billion views, the first video to do so.
While the song is believed to have originated in the US in the 1970s, with some linking it to the 1975 release of Jaws, earlier versions included darker themes involving shark attacks. Wright’s 2011 ‘non-dismemberment’ version presented a family-friendly adaptation, filmed by a pool with children and teenagers.
The dispute emerged after Wright noticed Pinkfong’s legal action against the People Power Party for using Baby Shark during a political campaign. He questioned whether his version should also be afforded copyright protection.
International variations, including Bébé Requin in French and Kleiner Hai in German, existed before Pinkfong’s hit, but none matched its staggering success. Since its release, Baby Shark has been translated into over 100 languages, covered by global artists from Blackpink to Josh Groban, and even adapted into a feature film.
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