Earlier this month, PLEDIS Entertainment responded to plagiarism accusations concerning the logo of their new boy group, TWS. The controversy began when TWM, a Korea-based custom watch brand, accused the agency (and, by extension, its new boy group) of plagiarizing their logo.
The issue surfaced when TWM aired their sentiments on Instagram. The brand said: “A group called TWS copied and used my logo. A very similar logo, it’s a logo I drew by hand and has trademark rights to. This is a frustrating start to a new year. I will have to report this as trademark infringement through a lawyer tomorrow. If you compare the group’s logo to my precious creation, it’s outrageous. It’s a logo with trademark protection under my name. I can’t just let this go.”
TWM also mentioned that they had been using their logo since September 2018. Many netizens also noticed the uncanny similarities between the brand’s logo and TWS’s logo. PLEDIS, however, clarified that no plagiarism was involved. Apparently, they outsourced the creation of TWS’s logo to an outside company. To settle the issue, PLEDIS met with someone from TWM.
@hybelabelsfamily TWS (투어스) OFFICIAL LOGO MOTION #pledis #tws #247withus
PLEDIS and TWM settled things
In an interview with Newsen, PLEDIS Entertainment stated, “We met with the company representative in person and provided a general explanation of the logo creation process and all misunderstandings were amicably resolved.”
In response, the brand also released a statement. “We met directly with PLEDIS and the external designer who developed the TWS logo, and received an overall explanation of the TWS logo production process. In conclusion, both I and the designer created the logo to the best of our abilities. We confirmed that the other party didn’t plagiarize my logo. Unfortunately, both sides were victims in this situation. Through this conversation, we resolved all misunderstandings, and we hope TWS will do well in the future.”
As the controversy of PLEDIS Entertainment plagiarizing the logo of TWM has come to a conclusive end, netizens are now looking forward to the group’s future activities. – K-Pop News Writer
Featured Image: The issue was settled after both parties met to discuss it. Sources: X/@pledischarts, X/@syok_malaysia.
