Attrakt Files To Trademark Fifty Fifty’s Name In The U.S., UK, China And Japan, Group Now Won’t Be Able To Promote Using Their Name Overseas

It has been confirmed that the agency of the girl group Fifty Fifty, Attrakt, has officially applied for trademark rights in four major K-pop consumer countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Japan, amid the suspension of the exclusive contract through an injunction.

On July 5th, Attrakt filed trademark applications in the four countries, and the applications have already been assigned registration numbers, going through the formal registration process. According to Jeon Jong-hak, a lawyer in charge of Attrakt’s trademark application process (President of the World Korean Intellectual Property Expert Association), “Patents or trademark rights can only be exercised individually in each country under the principle of national independence. In other words, having a trademark right in Korea does not mean you can exercise that right in the United States or the United Kingdom. Therefore, we need to individually apply for trademark rights in each country, and that’s why we filed trademark applications in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China.”

Previously, on May 15th, Attrakt had already filed an application for the English name ‘Fifty Fifty’ in Korea. Later, it was revealed that the four members who applied for the suspension of their exclusive contract on June 19th had also filed trademark applications for their names in Hangul. However, due to the “Paris Convention priority” principle in the United States and the United Kingdom, among others, the date of the initial trademark application in Korea (May 15th) is considered the basis. Therefore, even if the four members apply for trademark rights overseas in the future, Attrakt will have priority.

Currently, there is no evidence that the four members have applied for trademark rights separately in overseas countries. Attorney Jeon explained that the process for overseas trademark applications involves commissioning a US law firm to handle the applications and have the firm submit them to the US Patent and Trademark Office. It is not an automatic process where applications filed with the Korean Patent Office automatically transfer to other countries.

Once Attrakt’s overseas trademark applications are officially registered, the standing of the four members will likely be significantly reduced.

An industry insider commented, “Just like names like BTS or BLACKPINK, group names represent their identity. If a rookie group that hasn’t even debuted for a year cannot use their trademark, their activities will be significantly limited.” They also added, “In countries where intellectual property rights are strong, using a trademark without permission can lead to severe legal consequences. Considering punitive damages in the US, using a specific trademark without authorization is simply not feasible.”

Source: (A)

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