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Supreme Court Rules Pinkfong’s ‘Baby Shark’ Did Not Plagiarize US Composer’s Song

Written: 2025-08-14 13:38:05Updated: 2025-08-14 15:17:29

Supreme Court Rules Pinkfong’s ‘Baby Shark’ Did Not Plagiarize US Composer’s Song

Photo : YONHAP News

South Korea’s Supreme Court has upheld lower court rulings dismissing a U.S. composer’s copyright lawsuit over the hit children’s song “Baby Shark,” produced by the Pinkfong Company.

Johnny Only, whose real name is Jonathan Robert Wright, filed a damages suit in March 2019, claiming Pinkfong’s 2015 hit plagiarized his 2011 version of “Baby Shark,” which he argued was a derivative work based on a North American nursery rhyme with a unique rhythm.

On Thursday, the court ruled that his song lacked sufficient originality to qualify as a new copyrighted work and noted that traditional nursery rhymes cannot be exclusively owned.

It also found Pinkfong’s version to be an independent arrangement, not a copy of Only’s song.

The “Baby Shark Dance” video remains the most viewed video on YouTube, with more than 16 billion views.

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