JYP Entertainment has prevailed in safeguarding the trademark rights of their character brand 'SKZOO,' linked to their group Stray Kids.
The dispute began when the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) turned down JYP's application for the SKZOO trademark, citing similarities with SK Group's trademarks. Despite this, the court ruled in favor of JYP, stating that there was no potential confusion between the two trademarks.
SKZOO portrays animal characters representing the Stray Kids members (known as 'SKZ'). JYP has promoted SKZOO through various merchandise such as plush toys, figurines, and Kakao emoticons. While the company initially filed for the SKZOO trademark in March 2022, KIPO rejected it in August 2022, arguing it resembled SK Group’s registered trademarks.
The rejection encompassed various product categories like precious metals, accessories, stickers, photographs, footwear, apparel, concert light sticks, and character dolls. The main concern was whether SKZOO might be mistaken as 'SKZOO' (similar phonetically to SK Inc.). JYP challenged this decision by appealing to the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB), which dismissed it.
IPTAB defended its ruling by citing SK as a well-known trademark and suggested that SKZOO could be wrongly linked to SK Group, potentially giving rise to consumer confusion. The board implied that consumers might assume a special business affiliation between JYP and SK Group due to the trademark similarity.
JYP then escalated the matter to the Patent Court. KIPO argued that 'SKZOO' prominently featured 'SK,' making it visually and phonetically akin to SK Group's trademarks and posing a risk of consumer mix-up. JYP countered by stating that 'SKZOO' was a blend of 'SKZ' (an abbreviation for Stray Kids) and 'ZOO' (depicting animal characters), giving it a distinct meaning and appearance.
Ultimately, the court supported JYP. In November 2024, the verdict highlighted the clear differentiation between the two trademarks in appearance, pronunciation, and concept. It determined that consumers were improbable to confuse the two brands' origins. The ruling deemed KIPO's rejection invalid and required the cancellation of IPTAB's prior decision.
After this win, SKZOO's trademark registration under Class 25 (apparel) was officially announced on January 22, 2025. The anticipation is that other rejected categories will also secure registration in due time.
Legal experts stress the significance of brand recognition in the court's judgment.
Park Yeon Joo, a patent attorney at THEHO Patent & Law Firm, mentioned that in this case, the ruling considered the actual brand usage and recognition rather than common language conventions. This indicates that companies can enhance their trademark applications by consistently using distinctive pronunciations before submission.
Yoon Shin Woo, head patent attorney at BIZN IP & Law Firm, highlighted that the court acknowledged Stray Kids' global activities, surpassing 100 million views on music videos, and extensive media coverage. This led to the court concluding that SKZOO would naturally be pronounced as 'SKIZOO' rather than 'SK-JOO,' which played a pivotal role in overturning IPTAB's decision. The established recognition of SKZOO was crucial in the final judgment.
JYP Entertainment's successful defense of the SKZOO trademark signifies a significant triumph in safeguarding intellectual property rights for entertainment brands.