For fans, any BTS item has become a favorite item to buy. However, if fans are not alert when buying and selling BTS-related items, they will be easily taken advantage of by scammers and may even be an act of abetting the violation of intellectual property rights related to BTS. related to the group.
The recent case of kσrєαn Customs in Seoul is an example. They destroyed the illєgαl cross-border trade of masks printed with BTS's image and logo. The incident quickly attracted fans' attention because of the large number as well as the severity of the incident, affecting the group's copyright.
Below is information about the incident that is receiving a lot of attention from the kσrєαn public today:
BTS is considered one of the most successful music groups of all time. According to research by the kσrєαn Culture and Tourism Institute (KCTI), BTS has become an "economic force" in the country, helping to promote tourism and international public interest in fashion, cuisine, K-drama as well as many other commercial goods.
It is estimated that BTS is contributing about 5 billion USD to this country's economy. It is worth mentioning that BTS's success comes from the effective use of intellectual property rights to strengthen the brand, develop creative potential, and diversify economic sources. But it is also because of this factor that many merchants take advantage of BTS's reputation and image for profit.
Most recently, a group of people who stole BTS's images and trademarks without permission were arrested by Customs Headquarters in Seoul. According to the Customs Headquarters in Seoul on the 22nd, three people, including Mr. A (56 years old), CEO of a cosmetics manufacturer, were indicted last month on charges of producing, exporting, and distributing 110,000 packs of masks with the group's image and logo without permission (violation of trademark law).
Among them, Mr. B is also accused of conspiring with Mr. C, a mask package manufacturer, to produce 10,000 more masks around April 2021 and export all of them to נαραи, and further, over the world. Previously, in June 2020, when HYBE discovered the incident, they asked Mr. B and Mr. C to stop producing and distributing illєgαl BTS-related products, but they ignored it and continued to violate the law.
In particular, through checking related contracts through search and seizure, the customs authority also discovered that Mr. A and others were plotting to produce an additional 250 million packages of fake BTS masks (market value of 625 billion won) and export them around the world. A Seoul Customs official said after the bust of a group of global frauds: "We will continue to try our best to prevent the value of the kσrєαn brand from being damaged due to actively cracking down on illєgαl practices." trademark infringement targeting K-pop groups like BTS".
HYBE then presented a plaque of appreciation to Seoul Customs for their contribution in protecting a clean business environment and the BTS brand!
Meanwhile, HYBE has applied to the kσrєαn Intellectual Property Rights Information Office to copyright the English name of “BTS” and the fanclub name “ARMY", as well as most of the trademarks related to the group such as its kσrєαn name “방탄소년단” (Bangtan Sonyeondan), “Bangtan Boyz”, ARMY logo, BTS logo, BT21 character set.... since 2017. Therefore, all images and logos related to BTS are only used with the approval of the group as well as the management company.
All acts of counterfeiting and selling items using BTS's images, names, and logos are illєgαl. In the past, BTS has had their image taken advantage of by other companies many times to advertise their products or even got into lєgαl controversies related to intellectual property rights or commercial copyrights. Therefore, this successful incident also rings an alarm bell for those who are trying to take advantage of BTS's success to make money.
