[THREAD]

BTS & BH Intellectual Property (IP): patents, trademarks (TM), & copyrights

The truth is often more boring than lies, so read on.

Since I work in IP law, I reviewed BH’s trademark portfolio a few months ago to see what kind of IP they were pursuing, & it’s typical of most corporations. Wanna hear the boring details? Then keep reading.

Corporations make decisions regarding IP protection based on a complicated set of issues not limited to available resources, projected expansion into different markets, & scope of competition.

BH’s current TM portfolio is a mix of newly filed, pending, & registered TMs w/one abandoned. Almost half the TMs, those having to do with BT21 products, list Line Friends Corp. as a joint applicant.

Current TMs were filed as early as 21 April 2017 and as recently as 4 June 2018. The timing makes perfect business sense, as it coincides with BTS’s global visibility, increased brand power, & the revamped logo.

The process begins when the company’s internal teams take the necessary time to carefully & thoughtfully prepare the image, taking into consideration many factors. Did you know that the BTS logo won an award at the 2018 iF Design Awards in Germany? https://www.soompi.com/2018/02/08/big-hit-awarded-btss-logo-brand-identity/

TMs are one of the least time intensive forms of IP practice. Depending on client readiness, I could prepare and file 27 TM applications in single week. Once the image is finalized, BH’s involvement in the process is very minimal.

TMs are divided into classes which describe a wide range of possible uses for the finished product, & are often chosen from an existing list. An example below is of a Nike trademark registration in multiple classes, i.e. Classes 18, 25, 28, 35, and 41.

TM classes provide protection. We want BTS’s name & ARMY’s name to have strong & broad protection so they can’t be used by others. It protects the company’s IP assets, & by default, all it’s employees & partners, including BTS. It's about protection, not exploitation.

The vast majority of TMs are held by business entities, not individuals. All Microsoft employees, for example, sign documentation to give all IP rights to Microsoft. This is normal IP business practice worldwide & is not considered oppressive, controlling, or sneaky.

In fact, it’s considered *preferred* business practice because the employees created the IP with the company’s resources. The company also has the better resources to protect the IP in case of infringement. It’s a win/win and part of a normal, healthy business relationship.

BH as the publicly registered owner of TMs means little, is normal business practice & should not be used as evidence of a “greedy CEO”. Any profit sharing with employees would be worked out behind closed doors, including shares.

BTS can leave BH at the end of their contract if they choose. Typically, the company & artist will negotiate TM rights & any other IP at that time so the artist can continue use of their IP. Happens all the time, on the DL, in private negotiations. Could already have happened.

BTS deserves to be fairly compensated for their work, period. Maybe they are now, we *do not know*. Publicly available documents give a very limited view on their compensation package & TM ownership does not reflect internal profit allocation. These are private matters.

What BTS owns or does not own is not public knowledge, including BH shares. Anyone who says “BTS owns nothing” or “BTS will own nothing if they leave BH” are straight up guessing & in many cases, trying to instill fear among ARMY with nothing but opinions & wild guesswork.

NO ONE has access to private contracts that spell out the member's share of profits for merch, products, IP, concerts, appearances, album sales, brand partnerships, etc. Anyone who says they know what BH or BTS earns from these ventures is lying to you.

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