On Monday, January 8, Pledis Entertainment responded to accusations of plagiarism of the TWS logo through South Korean media outlet Newsen. Recently, a Korea-based custom watch brand, TWM, accused Pledis of copying their logo for the agency's upcoming K-pop boy group by posting stories on their official Instagram account.
While many netizens agreed about the uncanny similarities, Pledis quickly responded by saying that there was no plagiarism and the logo was created independently by an outsourcing company that collaborated with them. However, in order to further resolve the issue, the agency personally met with TWM employees and cleared up the misunderstanding that had divided them.
In their interview with Newsen, Pledis Entertainment stated:
“We met the company representative personally and provided an explanation about the logo creation process and all misunderstandings were resolved amicably.”
Pledis Entertainment responds to allegations of plagiarism of TWS logo following accusations from custom watchband brand TWM
On January 3, Korea-based watch strap brand TWM took to their official Instagram account and shared that their brand's official logo had been stolen by Pledis Entertainment for the upcoming K-pop boy band, TWS. The brand also shared that the logo was a personally created piece and that they were insulted by the agency for allegedly stealing their work.
The official Instagram post reads:
“A group called TWS copied and used my logo. Very similar logo, it's a hand-drawn logo that has trademark rights…This is a frustrating start to a new year…I'm going to have to report this as trademark infringement through 'I'm a lawyer tomorrow.' If you compare the group's logo to my precious creativity…it's outrageous. It's a valuable logo with trademark protection under my name. “I can't let this go.”
They continued:
“I have been using the TWM belt logo since September 2018, which is my own creation which has registered trademark rights. I cannot accept copies. This logo is the face of my brand. I have received threatening messages, and I will pick them up and report them.” I have contacted Pledis officials regarding the logo but have not received any response from Instagram. A logo is a valuable asset that you have hand-drawn and trademarked based on. “
The brand also stated that Pledis Entertainment failed to respond when they tried to contact them and explained that they would take legal action if the silence from the agency continued:
“Creations that mimic this are unacceptable. It is especially disappointing that an entertainment company called Life took interest in this without even properly checking it out. Once you see it, please leave your contact information or contact me on my YouTube channel or Instagram. If not reach out to us In this regard, we will take legal action through a lawyer.This logo is my creative work and a precious logo that I have been using for several years.
Shortly after the controversy arose, Pledis Entertainment sat down with Korean media outlet Newsen and participated in resolving the misunderstanding between the two parties. They also added:
“The TWS logo was created independently by the outsourcing company that worked with us.”
Following Pledis Entertainment's response, the custom watchband brand also issued a statement confirming there was a misunderstanding regarding the issue:
“We met directly with Pledis staff and the outside designer who developed the TWS logo, and received a comprehensive explanation of the TWS logo production process. In conclusion, the designer and I created the logo to the best of our abilities. We confirmed that the other party did not plagiarize my logo. Unfortunately, both sides were victims. Through this conversation, we have resolved the misunderstanding, and we hope that TWS will do a good job in the future.”
As the long-running controversy over Pledis Entertainment stealing the TWM logo has come to a decisive end, netizens are now looking forward to the group's activities in the future.
