"Kim," who formed and produced the boy group H.O.T, will no longer possess the trademark rights to the group's name and logo.
In their lawsuit against previous SM Entertainment Director Kim (Kim Kyung Wook), the court ruled in Salt Innovation's favor.
The production company, Salt Innovation, is responsible for H.O.T's reunion live performances. In 2018, Salt Innovation was compelled to withdraw the name and logo of the band from all advertising materials since they were unable to reach a settlement with Kim on the trademark rights, Soompi reported.
Kim Kyung Wook is a former director in SM Entertainment and the producer in charge of H.O.T. during his career in 1996.
He was responsible for SM Entertainment's planning and management. He appointed the band members its name with acronyms H.O.T (High-Five Of Teenagers).
Kim Kyung Wook also founded SM Enterprise that came into an agreement with SM Entertainment when the H.O.T members signed an exclusive contract. Kim believed that, on that basis, he was the legitimate owner of the trademark rights of H.O.T.
Salt Innovation arranged a nullity suit (a lawsuit to claim something null and invalid) against Kim's claims.
During the first trial, Kim stated he obtained approval from the H.O.T. members to use their trademark rights; they were minors then and did not have proper representatives to seal the arrangement. As a result, the court decreed that it could not be said that the members had signed their rights away, Soompi reported.
Kim Kyung Wook also sued Salt Innovation and H.O.T. member Jang Woo Hyuk for breaking his trademark rights in December 2018.
According to Salt Innovation, "The group held the concert under the title 'High-five Of Teenagers' to prevent unnecessary legal disputes with Mr. Kim."
They added, "Despite these efforts, however, Mr. Kim made the shameful move to sue not only the organizer but also the members of H.O.T. for violating trademark and copyright laws."
Thankfully, in September 2019, the prosecution ruled that H.O.T. did not violate any trademark and copyright laws. Kim ended up dropping the lawsuit in January 2020.
