It was confirmed on November 4 that all 54 trademark applications related to NJZ, jointly filed by Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein, had been rejected under the general rejection category.
The applications were rejected in three batches: 14 on October 4, 20 on October 14 and the remaining 20 on November 3. With all 54 applications turned down, the members’ efforts to secure trademark rights for NJZ have come to nothing.
The five members first unveiled the name NJZ on February 7 last year. At the time, they were embroiled in an exclusive contract dispute with ADOR and announced plans to pursue independent activities under their new name. However, the announcement was made unilaterally.
In an interview with CNN at the time, Hanni explained the meaning behind the name change, saying it was about “turning this difficult period into a more exciting one.”
The trademark applications had actually been filed a day before the name was publicly revealed. On February 6 last year, the five members jointly submitted an application to register NJZ as a trademark, covering 18 categories of goods and services.
The relationship between the proposed name and their original group name, NewJeans, was also cited as a reason for the rejection.
In a notice dated June 5 concerning one of the NJZ word-mark applications, the Korean Intellectual Property Office stated: “The applied-for trademark is similar to the trademark ‘New Jeans,’ which is being used or prepared for use by ADOR Co., Ltd., an entity that had an employment or other contractual relationship with the five applicants. Since the application seeks registration for identical or similar designated goods, it is considered a trademark application that violates the principle of good faith and therefore cannot be registered.”
The principle of good faith refers to the requirement that parties in a contractual relationship act honestly and fairly toward one another without betraying mutual trust.
It was also confirmed that third parties had filed trademark applications shortly after NJZ was announced. One individual submitted applications for “NJZ” on February 10 last year and “NJZ (New Journey Zone)” two days later, on February 12. These filings came three and five days after the members revealed the name, respectively. Each application covered 12 categories of goods and services.
Of the five members who jointly applied to register NJZ, all except Danielle have since returned to HYBE and ADOR. Danielle was notified of the termination of her exclusive contract last December and is continuing a damages lawsuit against ADOR.
Sources: Nate