Remember that time EXO dropped the comeback bomb at 2014 Mnet Asia Music Awards (MAMA)? Oh you know, that awesome teaser video that was shown right after their performance? Well, it seems like the motion graphic art pieces featured in the video weren’t originally created by SM Entertainment at all.
Yes, we are talking about these 3 motion graphic art pieces:
According to Soompi, EXO’s agency SM Entertainment was being accused of plagiarism as Swedish graphic designer Erik Söderberg tweeted to ask which agency had used the motion graphic art pieces created by 2 other graphic designers and himself in the comeback teaser video without permission.
Erik and the other designers were made aware of the similarity between the motion graphics art pieces featured in EXO’s videos and the designers’ videos when Tumblr user orisonofkyungsoo compared the motion graphics side by side. The user stated that the graphics are originated from “Fractal Experience – 4D Metatron” by Erik Söderberg, “Dancing Shapes” by Carlo Vega“/”Gray Keys” by Carlo Vega), and “Illusion” by Alexander Nusic:
A Twitter user asked Erik why the EXO’s video was blocked by him, he responded by saying that SM Entertainment had not given them any response after they sent their notice of copyright infringement in December last year. Thus, he ended up contacting Youtube so that he could make a report about the copyright issue on the teaser video.
In response to this situation, VM Production, the production company behind EXO’s teaser video denied that it was a plagiarism and stated they had “paid the graphic designer for permission for use.” “We are surprised at this situation and have contacted the graphic designer for further action, ” VM Production reps added.
@netizenbuzz VM Production had used copyright protected material from me and others when making the video. They made the mistake, not SM.
— Erik Söderberg (@eriksoderberg) January 14, 2015
SM Entertainment has also (finally) responded by saying:
EXO’s comeback teaser was produced professionally by a production company for the “MAMA” ceremony on December 3rd. We have asked VM Production for to take quick action and will work hard towards making sure that EXO’s comeback teaser is back up in service.
In just a few hours, Erik later announced on his Twitter that the teaser idea is already back up online, with the proper credit to the graphic designers involved in the video. He also thanked Seo Dong Hyeok for solving the problem almost immediately.
EXO fans – the video is back online and everything seems to be sorted out. Happy that Seo Dong Hyeok solved this fast and correctly. =)
— Erik Söderberg (@eriksoderberg) January 14, 2015
What do you think of the alleged accusation? Are there any other issues that you think SM Entertainment should address in 2015? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.