Before making their official debut, the rookie group TWS—often referred to as "Seventeen's younger brother group"—became entangled in an issue around logo plagiarism.
A company called TWM Strap, which makes personalized watch straps, claimed on Instagram on January 2 KST that a group by the name of TWS copied and utilized their logo without authorization.
TWM Strap expressed their dissatisfaction on social media, pointing out that the TWS logo was quite similar to their own. They emphasized that their trademark rights protected the arduous handcrafting that went into creating their logo.
At the beginning of the new year, the brand went on to express their dissatisfaction and said that they planned to file a complaint about the trademark infringement through legal channels with the help of a lawyer.
TWM Strap was upset about the state of affairs, emphasizing the difference between their original design and TWS' purported copying. They felt obliged to take action since they considered their logo to be priceless and legally protected under their name.
Contrarily, TWS, a boy group signed to Pledis Entertainment, is scheduled to debut nine years following Seventeen. Additionally, TWS will be the first group to perform under Pledis following the company's switch to HYBE.
Internet users in Korea discussed the issue in an online forum.
"They named them TWS to imitate that design."
"If you don't pay attention, they look the same."
"Even though I didn't copy it, it's so similar that I would change it."
"This is too similar... I think they should change it, even if it's just a coincidence."
"HYBE has a lot of money but it's a mess haha."
"Why are you doing things like that, HYBE hahahahahaha If you’re at the top of the industry, can you do things like that?"
TWS is scheduled to officially debut on January 22 KST.
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