HYBE applied for trademark rights of the term “BORAHAE” created by BTS’s V but got rejected
The Korean Intellectual Property Office refused to register HYBE’s trademark application for “BORAHAE”.
Recently, in various online communities, a notice of rejection by the Korean Intellectual Property Office against HYBE’s application for trademark rights for the term “BORAHAE” has become a hot topic.
The notice was posted on October 4th. In the notice, the Korean Intellectual Property Office said, “BORAHAE is a newly coined term that was first used by V (Kim Tae Hyung) at BTS’s fan meeting on November 13, 2016. The trademark application for BORAHAE cannot be registered because it is against the law of good faith.”
The Korean Intellectual Property Office pointed out, “V (at the time) referred to BORAHAE as ‘the meaning of trusting each other and loving each other for a long time like purple, the last color of the rainbow. The applicant (HYBE) is recognized to have applied for trademark rights even though they know it is a trademark used by others through contractual or business transactions such as partnership and employment.”
After V used it, “BORAHAE” became popular among ARMYs (BTS’s official fandom) around the world and has been used as a symbolic expression to refer to BTS.
However, in September 2020, La La Lees, a nail product brand company, was found to have applied for a trademark for “BORAHAE”, causing a controversy. HYBE eventually applied for the trademark of “BORAHAE” to the Korean Intellectual Property Office in June last year to protect the rights of their artists.
Source: nate
