Management label ONE HUNDRED, now representing the 11 members of The Boyz, has issued a follow-up statement regarding the ongoing trademark dispute against IST Entertainment.
According to ONE HUNDRED, IST Entertainment falsely claimed that it would grant the members of The Boyz free usage rights to the trademarked group name, while instead outlining disadvantageous conditions for the members.
Meanwhile, fans of The Boyz appeared to be siding with IST Entertainment after the recent developments, arguing that it was "quite reasonable" for IST to request some payment for the funds and resources that the company had invested in The Boyz for the duration of their career thus far.
Read ONE HUNDRED's full follow-up statement below.
"This is ONE HUNDRED.
Following our initial statement, IST Entertainment, a subsidiary of Kakao Entertainment, claimed that it had granted The Boyz members free usage rights for the trademark 'The Boyz'. However, this is not true.
If IST Entertainment had indeed granted free usage rights to The Boyz as the agency asserted, we would have ensured that the trademark usage rights, which rightfully belong to the artists, were protected throughout their contract period for the sake of the artists and their fans, The Bs.
However, the agreement proposal delivered by IST Entertainment yesterday (December 4 KST) contained three conditions, two of which were disadvantageous to the artists more than they were to ONE HUNDRED.
This contradicts IST Entertainment's claim that it provided The Boyz members with free usage rights to the trademark.
The proposed conditions stated that IST Entertainment would offer The Boyz usage rights, not ownership rights, to the name The Boyz, while stripping the members of their due profit-sharing rights from IST Entertainment. We emphasize again that this was far from granting free usage rights, as IST claimed.
From yesterday's statement released by IST, we interpreted that in order for the members to continue their healthy promotions and for the sake of The Bs, the group could use the trademark rights without any attached conditions. Therefore, ONE HUNDRED will also acknowledge that the negotiation regarding the free usage of the trademark The Boyz between IST Entertainment and the artists has been resolved.
Lastly, we deeply apologize to the fans, The Bs, for the concern and distress caused by these unfortunate circumstances even before the members transitioned to their new agency.
ONE HUNDRED will make every effort to ensure that the artists and fans can continue their journey with happiness. Thank you for taking the time to read this statement."
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