South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a 30 million won ($21,600) damages claim by an American composer who alleged that Pinkfong, a South Korean children’s content company, plagiarized his version of “Baby Shark,” ending a six-year legal dispute over the globally popular children’s song.

The court upheld lower court rulings from 2021 and 2023, which found no evidence that Pinkfong infringed Jonathan Wright’s, also known as Johnny Only, copyright. Wright had recorded his version in 2011, four years before Pinkfong’s, but both were based on a traditional folk melody widely used in U.S. children’s summer camps.

South Korean prosecutors move to arrest jailed ex-President Yoon’s wife

The judges ruled that Wright’s version did not significantly differ from the original melody to qualify as a protected creative work, and that Pinkfong’s song contained clear distinctions. The Supreme Court emphasized that the decision reaffirms established principles regarding derivative works based on folk tunes.

“The Supreme Court accepts the lower court’s finding that the plaintiff’s song did not involve substantial modifications to the folk tune to be regarded, by common social standards, as a separate work,” the court said.

Pinkfong’s “Baby Shark,” released on YouTube in 2015, became a global sensation, with the original video now surpassing 16 billion views and reaching No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. The franchise has generated 45.1 billion won ($32.6 million) in revenue in the first half of 2025 and expanded into TV shows, Netflix specials, movies, apps, and international musicals.

Source: Agency