Korean singer settles plagiarism dispute with artists

A South Korean singer who got entangled in a plagiarism controversy last year settled the dispute with an agreement to share the rights of his song with the foreign artists who own the song he is accused of copying, entertainment industry officials said Sunday.
Singer-producer Primary, who had climbed to the top of the local music charts with his song "I Got C" in November last year, was accused of copying a song by Dutch singer Caro Emerald. The controversy became full blown when Emerald's producer David Schreurs suggested there has been plagiarism. Primary's song was pulled from sales soon after the controversy surfaced.
Industry officials said Primary and six other people, including Schreurs, agreed to share the rights to the South Korean song.
Cho Kyu-chul, head of the Universal Music Publishing Korea which represents Emerald, said the creators of the original piece wanted to respect Primary's music and wanted to resolve the matter according to past practices.
"We, therefore, proposed to the two parties that they share the rights, and we have found a solution," Cho told Yonhap New Agency.
He said that the agreement does not mean artists of the original work have concluded that Primary has plagiarized their song. "Whether there has been plagiarism is conclusively determined through a lawsuit at the court," he added.