Judicial authorities have confirmed industry protocols regarding music copyrights with a decision to fine the organizer of the 2013 World DJ Festival on Tuesday.

The Seoul Western District Court slapped the president of the festival’s organizer, surnamed Choi, with a fine of 1 million won ($980) for copyright infringement during last year’s edition of the annual DJ Festival.

The ruling came after the Korea Music Copyright Association filed a lawsuit against Choi for unauthorized use of DJ DOC’s hit single “I Am a Guy Like That,” written and owned by Psy, which was performed by the hip-hop trio at the festival at that time. The association is entrusted by Psy with full authority to deal with any copyright issues with his music.

According to the court’s ruling, it is against the law for a singer to perform his or her song, even if it is included on the singer’s own album, without first receiving permission from and paying the necessary royalties to the copyright holder.

“Even when the original singer is singing his ‘own’ song, he must pay a fee to the composer when using it for commercial purposes,” said Judge Song Sang-ah on Tuesday.

“Although Choi received notifications several times from the association, prohibiting the use of copyrighted materials, he failed to take the necessary procedures for legal use of the song. Therefore, the court recognizes the copyright infringement,” the judge said.

By Sohn Ji-young (jiyoung.sohn@heraldcorp.com)