On January 26, legal industry sources confirmed that Dolphiners Films submitted the large deposit to the court. This move comes after the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 63 ruled on January 13 in favor of ADOR in part, ordering Dolphiners Films and director Shin Woo‑seok to pay ₩1 billion in damages plus 12% annual interest from December 14, 2024, until fully paid.
Although Dolphiners Films has appealed the ruling, the court had allowed provisional execution, meaning ADOR could proceed with enforcement. To prevent that, Dolphiners Films applied for a stay of execution and made the required deposit.
The day after filing its appeal on January 21, Dolphiners Films addressed the media on its official social channels, saying that “false information” about the January 13 ruling was spreading and needed to be corrected.
In its statement, the company clarified that the court did not find its conduct to be unauthorized. Rather, the court acknowledged that the upload of NewJeans’ ETA Director’s Cut video to YouTube was based on a verbal agreement between the parties and was not an unauthorized posting. The ruling also found the testimonies and evidence supporting the existence of that verbal agreement to be credible.
However, the court concluded that because the written contract required express written consent, Dolphiners Films was responsible for penalties arising from the contractual breach, even though the verbal agreement was real. The court also made clear that there was no finding of copyright infringement, and it dismissed all of ADOR’s other claims against Dolphiners Films and director Shin.
Dolphiners Films argued that recognizing the oral agreement but penalizing the company solely for lack of a written contract contradicts the parties’ expressed intent to treat the verbal agreement as equivalent to a written one. For that reason, the company appealed the decision on January 20.
Dolphiners Films added that all NewJeans music videos and related content it has produced were undertaken at a loss to enhance its portfolio and improve artistic quality. To support this, Dolphiners Films says it submitted detailed profit and loss data from projects to the court.
The company also addressed rumors regarding its contract structures, calling them untrue. It stressed that it maintains independent creative environments and relationships built on mutual respect, and requested that unfounded speculation and malicious slander be avoided. Finally, it warned that it intends to take a strong legal stance against the spread of false information, coordinated online campaigns, and related activities.
Sources: Daum
You must be logged in to post a comment.