Court Ruling For JYP Entertainment’s Trademark Of Stray Kids’ Related Terms Released
In March 2022, JYP Entertainment filed for trademark registration of “SKZOO.” However, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) raised objections. SKZOO is a set of animal characters representing the members of Stray Kids (also known as SKZ). JYP Entertainment has released SKZOO not only as merchandise such as dolls and figures, but also as KakaoTalk emoticons.
In August 2022, KIPO rejected the trademark application on the grounds that it was “similar to the registered trademark of SK Corporation.” SK Corporation is one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates, handling many areas including telecom, construction, and more. The rejected product categories included Class 14 (precious metals, accessories), Class 16 (stickers, photos), Class 25 (footwear, clothing), and Class 28 (concert light sticks, character dolls), among others.
The core issue was whether SKZOO could be perceived as being split into “SK” and “ZOO,” and thus pronounced as “SK-joo” (에스케이주). If so, it would be considered too similar to SK Corporation’s trademarks. On the other hand, if it was simply perceived as “SKZOO,” pronounced as “Seu-ki-zoo,” it would pose no issues. JYP Entertainment filed an appeal with the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB), but it was dismissed. The board concluded that “the trademark SKZOO is likely to evoke the well-known SK mark and cause confusion or misidentification as being produced or sold by an affiliate of the SK Group.”
JYP Entertainment then filed an appeal with the Patent Court. In the lawsuit, KIPO argued that “SKZOO begins with ‘SK,’ and its appearance and pronunciation are similar to SK Corporation’s trademarks, creating a risk of confusion regarding the source among consumers.” JYP Entertainment countered that “SKZOO is a combination of ‘SKZ,’ short for Stray Kids, and ‘ZOO,’ meaning animal park, and represents a completely different concept and image.”
In the end, the court ruled in favor of JYP Entertainment. In November 2024, the court ruled that “the two trademarks are clearly distinguishable in appearance, pronunciation, and concept. The overall impression and associated image of the marks are different, and consumers are unlikely to recognize them as being from the same source.” The court further declared that “KIPO’s rejection was unlawful” and ordered the board’s decision to be overturned. As a result, on January 22, 2025, the trademark registration of SKZOO for Class 25 was officially announced. The other previously rejected SKZOO product categories are also expected to be registered in sequence.
The Patent Court considered the fact that Stray Kids, who used the SKZOO trademark, were active overseas, had music videos with over 100 million views, and had wide media exposure. Based on this, the court concluded that pronouncing it “SK-joo” would be unnatural, and that ‘SKZOO’ is naturally pronounced “Seu-ki-joo.” It appears that the public recognition of SKZOO helped overturn the board’s initial ruling.
