The conflict between Starship Entertainment (hereafter referred to as Starship) and a small business owner regarding the trademark rights of the group IVE has been resolved as a mere incident thanks to the agency's swift apology and actions.
Starship stated that the issue arose from the unilateral handling of affairs by their legal representative, and they immediately withdrew the lawsuit and promised to prevent recurrence.
This controversy came to light when Mr. A, the representative of the leather workshop "IVE Leather Goods," expressed his position on September 30.
Mr. A revealed that he received a notice of cancellation of trademark registration from Starship, stating, "I completed the trademark registration in 2019, and it is unfair to cancel it because of the group IVE, which debuted in 2021." He expressed his deep desire to protect the brand, which he claimed was a legacy of the workshop run by his parents, evoking sympathy from many.
As the controversy spread, Starship quickly responded with an official statement on the 2nd. Starship confirmed, "This matter was handled unilaterally by an agent without prior consultation with us," and stated, "As soon as we recognized the fact, we reviewed the legality of the procedure and promptly withdrew the lawsuit."
They further apologized, saying, "We deeply regret the confusion caused to many during this process." Additionally, they stated, "We respect the rights and efforts of those who have diligently continued their business for a long time, just as much as we protect the rights of our artists," and promised to manage more carefully to prevent such incidents from recurring.
With Starship's swift and accurate response immediately after recognizing the issue, this controversy, which could have escalated into an unnecessary legal dispute between a large corporation and a small business, was resolved within a day.
[Jin Ju-hee, MK Sports Reporter]
