On September 25, One Hundred Label released a statement addressing the latest lightstick controversy that had sparked a severe conflict between The Boyz fandom and QWER fandom.
The label expressed, "We sincerely empathize with the confusion and inconvenience that fans have experienced due to the recent design similarity between The Boyz’s official lightstick and QWER’s, and we deeply apologize."
One Hundred Label revealed that the company requested a design change on QWER's end, but no conclusion to the issue has been reached.
QWER's decision to continue with their lightstick design despite The Boyz's label request has sparked further disappointment and anger among Korean netizens and fans. In a popular online community, many criticized the group for their lack of business ethics.
They commented:
"They have no business ethics."
"omg."
"A megaphone-shaped light stick is almost on the level of BLACKPINK's hammer light stick. Weren't they both the first of their kind for light sticks? I thought it was so innovative when I first saw BLACKPINK's and The Boyz's."
"Shouldn't the companies just solve this legally? It seems like the other side is being stubborn and refusing to change it, even though they filed for a design patent. Then they should just sue them. It's the rule of the idol world; they should change it. It won't work even if you send a protest truck, so they should just use the law."
"I support The Boyz's light stick. It's a symbol that connects the artist and the fandom... That's what's right."
"Wow."
"As someone in the idol fandom world, I support The Boyz."
"That's right! The agency should take action."
"Wow, that's crazy."
"I feel like it's hard to understand this if you're not in the idol fandom..."
"Let's go with legal action."
"No business ethics."
"Of course, they have no business ethics, lol."
"Just change the design."
"They should have changed it on their own, and now they've been asked and refused. That agency is really combative... Tsk tsk."
"The design itself is common, so they probably won't win legally."
"The megaphone design isn't so original, but it was one of the first in the idol world. So, it's an unspoken rule in the fandom world."
"This is not right."
"Oh, they were directly requested to change the design? Wow."
"If they have a design patent, they can just go the legal route."
"QWER should've released an apology statement."
"They have no business ethics at all, it's disgusting..."
"The agency did a good job responding."
"Thugs."
"I'm a designer, and I hope the people who say 'it's a common design, blah blah' have absolutely nothing to do with the design industry."
"They requested it, and they still didn't accept?"
"This is wrong. If the party involved requests a change, they should change it."
SEE ALSO: QWER files mass lawsuits against malicious commenters “No exceptions in legal responsibility”
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