According to a report by SBS on July 5, there have been recent developments regarding the girl group FIFTY FIFTY.
Notably, not only for the group name 'FIFTY FIFTY' but also several trademark rights associated with the group's members, Aran (Jung Eun Ah), Kina (Song Ja Kyung), Saena (Jung Se Hyun), and Sio (Jung Ji Ho), were registered on the 19th of June.
Earlier, ATTRAKT, the agency representing FIFTY FIFTY, had applied for trademark rights for the group name "FIFTY FIFTY" on June 15. Currently, the trademark application is pending examination, meaning that it has been accepted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and meets the requirements for recognition of the filing date, but an examiner has not been assigned yet.
However, just four days later, on June 19, four individuals registered "Fifty Fifty" in Korean through an agent. It is noteworthy that the individuals who registered the trademark share the same family names as the four members, Aran, Kina, Saena, and Sio.
Interestingly, on the same day the trademark was registered, the members of FIFTY FIFTY applied for a provisional injunction to suspend their exclusive contract with their agency. This raised some questions as to whether the members had intentionally registered the trademark rights beforehand in an attempt to exclude their agency, ATTRAKT.
FIFTY FIFTY is a four-member girl group that made their debut in November of last year with the EP titled "THE FIFTY." They achieved significant success when, after only 130 days since their debut, they entered the Billboard HOT 100 chart at No. 100, becoming the fastest Korean artist to do so. Their popularity continued to grow as they remained on the chart for five consecutive weeks.
Following their accomplishments, FIFTY FIFTY aimed to expand their reach globally by signing a distribution contract with Warner, a major global record label. However, last month, a dispute emerged when ATTRAKT raised suspicions that "external forces" were attempting to exploit the members.
In the meantime, on the afternoon of July 5, the first interrogation session was held regarding the members' application for an injunction to suspend the validity of their exclusive contract with ATTRAKT. The members claimed that the agency's current settlement was conducted in an unclear manner and that they were coerced into continuing their activities despite their declining health conditions.
I have never seen a group self-destruct so quickly and disastrously.
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