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| GFriend members Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB, and Umji can continue to use the name GFriend in any form. (Photo from Kpopstarz) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] It has been revealed that the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency (KOIPA) has rejected Source Music's application for exclusive trademark rights to GFriend. According to the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency, "Reason for rejection 1: The trademark 'G-Friend' is identical to the English name for the 6-member South Korean girl group GFRIEND and cannot be trademarked.
Reason for rejection 2: The trademark 'GFRIEND' is directly affiliated with the 6-member South Korean girl group GFRIEND (Korean: 여자친구), a group noticeably identifiable by general consumers, and thus the use of this trademark by the applicant for product use can cause misconception, raising the potential for the deception of consumers." As a result, GFriend members Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB, and Umji can continue to use the name GFriend in any form, including if they wished to reunite and release an album or appear as a team on TV broadcasts.
Many netizens are now applauding the KOIPA's decision and are celebrating the victory for GFriend and their fans.
