ADOR Directly Involved in NJZ Trademark Registration by Submitting ‘Information Submission Statement’

It has been confirmed that their agency, ADOR, has belatedly put the brakes on NewJeans, who had filed for a trademark while exploring the direction of their activities under the new group name ‘NJZ’ after notifying the termination of their exclusive contract.

It was confirmed that on January 28, ADOR submitted a trademark information submission statement for each of the 56 application numbers for the ‘NJZ’ trademark filed by the NewJeans members (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein), which are currently undergoing application examination. Submitting trademark information is a system that anyone can utilize to inform the examiner that the applied trademark may cause confusion with an existing trademark or may have an improper purpose.

ADOR’s information submission regarding the NJZ trademark is also understood to be aimed at making the examiner aware of the possibility that the mark in question is not an independent new brand, but is connected to the reputation of the existing NewJeans, thereby causing confusion. Since the exclusive contract between NewJeans and ADOR was previously confirmed to be valid by a court ruling, it is interpreted as a preemptive measure to prevent the registration and possible unauthorized use of the NJZ trademark.

・・・ Omitted ・・・

Later, as ADOR won the lawsuit confirming the validity of the exclusive contract between NewJeans and ADOR on October 30 of the same year, all NewJeans members, except Danielle, whose contract was terminated as of December 29, expressed their intention to return to the agency. During this process, all of NewJeans’ ‘NJZ’-related social media accounts were deleted, leaving only the ‘applied trademark.’

It had been predicted that the remaining trademark rights issue could be resolved by ADOR requesting them to withdraw the trademark application, as the members expressed their intention to return. However, a trademark application is an individual right, and in the case of NJZ, all five members are listed as applicants, so if even one person refuses to withdraw the application, it cannot be forced. In the current situation, the prevailing view is that it will not be easy for Danielle, who is in the midst of a lawsuit for 43 billion won in penalties and damages with ADOR, to comply with ADOR’s request to withdraw the trademark application.

Taking all these points into consideration, it appears that ADOR has responded by raising the issue at the examination stage rather than attempting to control the application itself. Even if an application is withdrawn, it is possible to reapply with the exact same content as the withdrawn case later. However, if a record of raising the issue from the examination stage is left through information submission, it can lower the possibility of trademark registration itself, including reapplications, applications under different names, and overseas applications.