Korean pop group Gfriends trademark rejected

What you need to know (in a nutshell)

1. The Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency (KOIPA) has rejected Source Music’s application for exclusive trademark rights to GFriend’s name.
2. The trademark ‘G-Friend’ is identical to the English name for the 6-member South Korean girl group GFRIEND and cannot be trademarked.
3. The use of the trademark by the applicant for product use is likely to confuse and therefore raises the potential for the deception of consumers.

Full Article

Source Music’s bid for exclusive trademark rights to GFriend has been denied by the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency (KOIPA).

The Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency states that

1. The ‘G-Friend’ trademark is denied as it is the same name as a South Korean girl group.
2. ‘GFRIEND’ trademark is linked to a South Korean girl group of the same name.

Consumers may be misled if Source Music uses this trademark for product use.

GFriend’s members Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB and Umji are free to use the name GFriend for any purpose - including reuniting as a group or appearing on TV.

Netizens praised KOIPA’s decision, celebrating the win for GFriend and their fans.