• 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]

  • 'Weak Hero 2' takes over Netflix and sends webtoon sales skyrocketing 20 times

    The hit drama Weak Hero 2 is taking over both streaming charts and fans’ hearts—and now it’s bringing massive attention back to the original Naver webtoon Weak Hero.

    According to Netflix's Tudum Top 10 update on April 30, Weak Hero 2 pulled in a huge 6.1 million views (based on total watch time divided by full runtime) just three days after its release. It grabbed the #1 spot on the Global TOP 10 Non-English TV Series chart.

    That’s not all—right after it dropped, the drama soared to the top of Korea’s TOP 10 Series and even made the TOP 10 charts in 63 countries, including Brazil, France, Mexico, Belgium, Morocco, Greece, Indonesia, and more.

    This follows the success of Weak Hero 1, which previously ranked #8 and stayed on the global chart for five weeks straight.

    With all eyes on the new season, fans are now rushing to read the original webtoon, leading to a massive jump in popularity.

    The webtoon, which first started in May 2018 and wrapped up in November 2023, is famous for its intense storytelling and emotional depth.

    It tells the story of Yeon Si Eun, a quiet and seemingly weak student who turns into a top fighter at a violent school—giving fans a unique and gripping coming-of-age story.

    After Weak Hero Class 2 aired, many viewers started reading or re-reading the webtoon from beginning to end. As a result, sales of the webtoon have shot up more than 20 times compared to its average monthly sales after completion.

    The series has also been turned into printed books, a mobile game, and even emojis, and has been exported to 9 countries, including North America.

    When the first season of the drama premiered on Wavve in 2022, it held 45% of the platform’s total viewing share, proving its wide appeal.

    Fans are now hoping for a new sequel season of the webtoon, and the franchise is being praised as a perfect example of how a strong original story can keep growing through great adaptations.

    Source: [1]