Girl group FIFTY FIFTY’s agency Attrakt officially applied for trademark rights in 4 major K-pop consuming countries, including the US, the UK, China and Japan.
Accordingly, even if the exclusive contract is suspended and independent activities are possible, it is predicted that it will be difficult for 4 members to work under the name of “FIFTY FIFTY” overseas without Attrakt’s consent in the future.
Attrakt applied for trademark rights simultaneously in 4 countries on July 5th. The application numbers have already been given and the process for official registration is underway. In an interview with Munhwa Ilbo on July 25th, Patent Attorney Jeon Jong Hak (Chairman of the World Intellectual Property Association of Korean Practitioners, WIPA), who is representing Attrakt’s trademark application, said, “You can’t exercise your rights in the US or the UK with Korean trademark rights. Therefore, you have to apply separately. This time, we applied for trademarks in 4 countries, including the US, the UK, Japan and China.“
On May 15th, Attrakt completed the registration of the English group name FIFTY FIFTY trademark in Korea. Afterwards, it was revealed that a total of 12 trademarks, including FIFTY FIFTY’s Korean name, were applied under the names of 4 members on July 19th. However, in accordance with the “Paris Convention priority right system under the Trademark Act” in the US and the UK, the first trademark application was filed in Korea on May 15th, so the priority is on Attrakt even if 4 members apply for trademarks overseas in the future.
So far, no circumstantial evidence has been found that 4 members have separately applied for trademark rights overseas. If overseas trademarks applied by Attrakt are officially registered, 4 members’ position will inevitably decrease significantly.
Source: Nate
