• Will GFRIEND Carry On Promoting As A Group "Again" After Winning Trademark Rights to Source Music?

    Ex-members of the disbanded group GFRIEND opened up the possibility of promoting as "GFriend". The industry's opinion is that the agency's mistakes paved the way for their activities.

    Source Music, a subsidiary of HYBE, recently requested the Korean Intellectual Property Office to apply for a trademark for "G-Friend", but received a rejection notice on July 14th. It is not a decision to dismiss, but the purpose is to amend the opinion on the trademark application.

    The applied trademark "G-Friend" is a trademark similar to "GFRIEND", the English name of the group girlfriend (Trademark Act, Article 34, Paragraph 1, No. 6). This is because there is a risk of confusion or consumer deception (Trademark Act, Article 34, Paragraph 1, No. 11).

    The products that Source Music applied for this time were 18 (bags and clothing, etc.), which were previously rejected because 3 (soap and non-medical cosmetics, etc.), 11 (sanitary devices for steam generation, etc.), and 14 (precious metals, Jewelries, etc.) was not an application for entertainment-related trademark rights.

    Nonetheless, based on the interpretation of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the existing GFRIEND members are permitted to engage in activities not only with the English name "G-Friend," but also with the original Korean name "여자친구" which is currently held by the former agency Source Music.

    According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, Source Music's trademark application was for "a trademark similar to the English name of 'G-Friend,' a six-member female singer group that is widely recognized by the general public."

    In a similar case, T-ara's former agency applied for a trademark application for "T-ara" and was rejected.

    Park Soo Jo, a patent attorney at Yonsei University (adjunct professor at Yonsei University), stated, "The Korean Intellectual Property Office appears to have clarified the position that, if the group is disbanded after the name of an existing famous idol group is owned by the agency, the trademark rights of the group name will belong to the group members and not the agency".

    GFriend was a six-member girl group debuted by Source Music in January 2015; however, Source Music, which was acquired by HYBE in May of last year, terminated their activities due to the expiration of their exclusive contract. It came as a surprise to the fans. The anger of the fans continued, as did the criticism that the "disbandment" was not fully agreed upon by the agency and the members.

    Source[1]

  • Fans can't stop swooning over BTS's V showing off cherry blossoms and his toned muscles just 40 days before discharge

    BTS's V is making his fans fall even more in love with him as he shares moments from his life just 40 days before his military discharge.

    On April 30, V posted several new photos on his Instagram story, giving fans a sneak peek into his daily routine.

    Among the photos was a beautiful shot of cherry blossoms, accompanied by the word "cherry blossom" as he expressed his longing for spring.

    He followed up with more photos, sharing how much he wanted to enjoy the season with his fans.

    To make the post even more special, V added background music from BTS member J-Hope's song Sweet Dreams and Design by the American punk band Gustav.

    It turns out that Gustav was grateful for V introducing their music to the world and even received fan comments saying they discovered the band through him.

    In another adorable photo, V posed with CF director Ray J. Yi (Lee Jun Yeob), with flowers in his hair. The director also shared the cute photo, adding the word "flower" to express how happy he was with the moment.

    But it wasn’t all about flowers and beauty—V also gave fans a peek at his workout routine. He proudly showed off his toned arm muscles in a picture, though his face appeared a little thinner.

    This is likely due to his diet, as he’s been working hard to maintain his figure ahead of his discharge. Before enlisting, V weighed 62 kg, and during his service, he reached 86 kg. Now, he’s lost 10 kg and is preparing for his return to the public eye.

    Interestingly, V has been working out at the same place where singer Kim Jong Kook films his popular YouTube channel Jim Jong Kook, sparking fan excitement and hopes that V might make an appearance on the show after he’s discharged.

    As soon as V shared his latest update, his name—"KIM TAEHYUNG"—shot to the top of real-time trending charts worldwide. Fans from all over the globe, including in the U.S., couldn’t get enough of the updates, proving once again the massive impact V has.

    He is set to be discharged from the military on June 10, and fans are eagerly awaiting his return.

    Source (1)