The Source Music agency recently reportedly patented the copyright of the girl group GFRIEND name.
The news came after GFRIEND decided not to renew their contract with the Source Music agency.
According to reports on Tuesday (18/05), GFRIEND and Source Music will officially separate after their exclusive contract ends on May 22.
Source Music itself is reported to have patented the name GFRIEND in English and Korean at the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
The Korean name GFRIEND was patented by Source Music in January 2015 when they just debuted, while the English name GFRIEND was only patented in March 2020.
Knowing this information, of course, makes many fans wonder whether GFRIEND will continue to use their group name after leaving the Source Music agency.
A similar case occurred with the boy group BEAST, whose name was patented by Cube Entertainment's agency. When leaving the agency and establishing their own agency, the BEAST members changed their group name to HIGHLIGHT.
In related news, Source Music is reported to have deleted all of GFRIEND's schedule for future activities. (www.kpopchart.net)
