Source Music’s request to register the name ‘GFRIEND’ was refused.
The agency is trying to get the name ‘GFRIEND’ trademarked so that they can use the group’s name in the future, but also keep the rights to the name and prevent anyone from using it.
However, the company’s claims were denied.
First, the request to deposit ‘G-FRIEND’ was refused, but the request to deposit ‘GFRIEND’ directly was also refused.
This is probably explained by the fact that Source Music did not register the name when the group was still active within it.
The Korean Intellectual Property Rights have indeed refused applications to register the name by Source Music citing the following reasons:
“The name G-FRIEND is identical to the English name of South Korean girlgroup GFRIEND and cannot be trademarked.”
“The name GFRIEND is directly affiliated with the 6-member South Korean girlgroup GFRIEND, a group recognized and identifiable by the general public, and Applicant’s use of this name may cause people to misunderstand, and lead to potential consumer disappointment.”
So far, Source Music has failed to register GFRIEND’s name. Currently, Sowon, Eunha, Yuju, SinB, Yerin, and Umji are free to use the GFRIEND name. If they wanted to get back together, they could also revert to the name GFRIEND without needing permission from Source Music.
Source: pannnate
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