It’s YouTube’s most-viewed video of all time with over 16 billion performs, and it’s racked up an extra 1 billion+ streams on Spotify.
However Pinkfong’s Child Shark, launched in 2015, didn’t plagiarize an earlier model of the track recorded by US songwriter Jonathan Wright, South Korea’s Supreme Courtroom dominated at this time (August 14).
The courtroom rejected Wright’s copyright dispute over the viral kids’s observe, figuring out that his 2011 model of the people track – sure, it’s a folks track – couldn’t be thought-about a “artistic work” as a result of (i) prior variations already existed and (ii) Wright didn’t add ample new creativity to benefit copyright safety.
“The plaintiff’s track is tough to be protected as a secondary copyrighted work as a result of it didn’t attain a considerable alteration to the extent the place it could possibly be thought-about as a separate work, by social norms, from the oral track talked about on this case,” the courtroom acknowledged, affirming an earlier decrease courtroom determination.
That will likely be music to the ears of Seoul-based Pinkfong, which reported 45.1 billion gained ($32.6 million) in income in the course of the first half of 2025.
(Sony doubtless gained’t hate it, both: Sony Music Publishing signed an settlement with Pinkfong in November 2020 to publish its whole catalog of youngsters’s songs, together with Child Shark; Pinkfong has beforehand additionally signed a cope with Sony’s The Orchard/Relentless to distribute its data.)
The success of Pinkfong’s Child Shark Dance video on YouTube, launched ten years in the past, has spawned a profitable multimedia franchise.
Stated franchise now spans TV exhibits, films, smartphone apps, and even touring musicals, that includes characters Child Shark, Mama Shark, Papa Shark, Grandma Shark, and – how may we overlook? – Grandpa Shark.
Pinkfong stated in an announcement to the Related Press that the ruling confirmed its model of Child Shark was primarily based on a “conventional singalong chant” that was within the public area.
The corporate stated it gave the tune a recent twist by including “an upbeat rhythm and catchy melody, turning it into the popular culture icon it’s at this time.”
Jonathan Wright, who performs beneath the identify Johnny Solely, had sought 30 million gained (USD $21,600) in compensation, claiming Pinkfong’s model was “considerably comparable” to his YouTube add from 2011.
Wright argued that each songs shared “identical key, identical tempo change, identical melody and rhythm.”
Wright’s South Korean legal professional, Chong Kyong-sok, known as the result of the case “a bit of disappointing” however confirmed the matter was now settled.
“It’s our work that got here out first, so we will deal with the licensing on our aspect and I assume we then every go our separate methods,” he stated, in keeping with reviews.
The case centered on whether or not Wright’s model certified as a “secondary work” of the unique folks track and whether or not Pinkfong had subsequently primarily based their model on his work.
The Supreme Courtroom decided that Wright had not made ample adjustments to the unique track to grant him copyright as a secondary work, and located “no substantial similarities” between his model and Pinkfong’s.
The ruling highlights the complicated copyright points surrounding folks songs and conventional melodies within the digital age.
Varied variations of Child Shark existed earlier than Wright’s 2011 add, together with a German model known as Kleiner Hai that gained traction in Europe in 2010.
The track has roots as a standard melody used at kids’s summer time camps in the USA for years earlier than both Wright’s or Pinkfong’s variations.
Wright’s authorized problem started in 2019 after Pinkfong’s model captured international consideration, sparking social media phenomena just like the #BabySharkChallenge and reaching No. 32 on the Billboard Sizzling 100 chart.
Right now’s determination echoes comparable high-profile copyright disputes over folks songs, together with the 2015 case that eliminated Joyful Birthday to You from Warner Chappell copyright claims after a federal decide dominated the writer’s rights utilized solely to a selected piano association somewhat than the underlying melody and lyrics.Music Enterprise Worldwide
