Comparison controversy between the group New Jins (above) and EliT. Provided by Hive
‘Is the group EliT a copy group of New Jins? Experts expressed concern about the similarity of their ‘concepts’ rather than accusing of ‘plagiarism’ or ‘copying’, suggesting the need for legal protection and criticism.’,
‘The controversy over EliT imitating New Jins is a central issue in the conflict between Hive and Audoer. Another key issue is that EliT debuted while adjusting the non-compete clause between Audoer CEO Min Hee-jin, known as the ‘slave contract’, and Hive in the shareholders’ agreement. CEO Min Hee-jin spoke out about EliT’s imitation suspicion and raised internal whistleblowing issues, but Hive activated audit rights and made it public in the media.’, ‘During this process, CEO Min Hee-jin stated, “The cultural achievements made by Audoer and its artist New Jins are ironically being most seriously infringed by Hive” and mentioned, “One of Hive’s labels, Belief Lab, debuted EliT in March and has been copying New Jins in all areas of entertainment activities such as hair, makeup, costumes, choreography, photos, videos, and event appearances.”
Comparison controversy between the group New Jins (above) and EliT. Provided by Hive
‘It is true that EliT has been evaluated as a group similar to New Jins since their debut. Both New Jins and EliT are under the Hive label, both are 5-member girl groups, both debuted with fast-paced electronic music, both adopted a dreamy school uniform concept, their choreographies are also similar, and both have participated in fashion brand events right from their debut.’, ‘Internet users have pointed out the similarities between New Jins and EliT this time, including album covers and artworks, photo cards inserted in the albums, and 2D illustrations that embody the members as characters.’,
‘Experts in the music industry agreed on the similarity between New Jins and EliT. One music planning company CEO said, “The essence of an idol group is the concept,” and stated, “If the overall concept is similar, despite differences in details, it can be considered a clear act of infringement.”‘, ‘Another music planning company CEO also mentioned, “Regardless of the group’s similarity, if a similar concept group within the same parent company debuted in March, had activities in April, and another group made a comeback in May, there seems to be a significant flaw in the scheduling, regardless of intent.”‘,
Album promotion poster of the group New Jins (right) and EliT’s poster. Provided by Hive
‘Other music industry experts also agreed that EliT was significantly influenced by New Jins. They also noted the aspect where the younger generation primarily consuming K-pop is directly raising concerns about the similarity of concepts.’, ‘An anonymous prominent visual arts artist stated, “In creativity, parody and homage may be allowed, but actions that encroach on pure originality should be criticized,” and mentioned, “When comparing the fonts and artworks of New Jins and EliT albums, it seems to infringe upon the unique efforts of the creators.”‘, ‘They also said, “This can create enough resentment not only among the public but also among many people involved in creating.”‘,
Album cover of the group New Jins (left) and EliT’s album cover. Provided by Hive
‘A Brand Marketing Manager of a global brand mentioned, “The controversy over the similarity of the two groups goes beyond just similar concepts,” and said, “EliT seems to have replicated New Jins’ success formula at the ‘tracing’ level.”‘, ‘They further stated, “From Y2K retro sentiment, the innocence of teenage girls, dreamy pastel-tone visuals, Hive’s marketing strategy, it’s hard to erase the feeling that EliT copied New Jins’ success formula from 1 to 10,” and said, “Referencing itself is commonly used in brand planning processes, but in the case of EliT, it went beyond this level.”‘,
Advertisement of the group New Jins (above) and EliT’s advertisement. Provided by Hive
‘Additionally, this executive mentioned, “Hive appears to be hastily adhering to the success formula without regard for the minimum pride and conscience that creators should have,” and said, “Such behavior is worrisome not only as an issue of EliT but also as it could be connected with the ethical principles of the entire K-pop industry.”‘, ‘Furthermore, they stated, “As a global entertainment company, Hive should respect artists’ creativity and formulate branding strategies that can preserve each group’s unique charm,” and said, “I hope for contributions to the advancement of the K-pop market through continuous innovation and differentiation, rather than simply replicating a success formula.”‘,
‘The similarity between New Jins and EliT is pointed out to be in a legal grey area in practice.’, ‘Attorney Noh Jong-eon, CEO of the law firm Jonjae, stated, “In the shareholders’ agreement, there is no effective provision that allows a subsidiary like Audoer, if it copies the concept and choreography of the parent company Hive, to defend the parent company’s actions. Even if the concept and choreography are plagiarized, it is realistically difficult to defend due to the current structure.”‘, ‘He added, “The fundamental background behind CEO Min Hee-jin calling it a ‘slave contract’ seems to be that Audoer’s creation, if taken away by the parent company, may resemble a situation where the creations produced by slaves are inevitably taken away by the owner in plantation agriculture, and from the creators’ perspective, enduring such behavior unconditionally just because there was a one-sided monetary reward would have been mentally painful.”‘,
Group New Jins (above) and EliT. Provided by Hive
‘Additionally, he stated, “One of the weaknesses of the shareholders’ agreement is that in cases involving operations of label groups from other companies, it is an unforeseeable novelty for the parent company to inappropriately use the concept of the subsidiary. Thus, there is a lack of regulation in this area,” and said, “The basic structure of the Commercial Act in South Korea is mainly regulated around traditional industries, making it difficult to understand the label industry with the structure of traditional Commercial Act, which means that the label industry needs to be approached as a kind of nascent concept born to guarantee the creations of creators.”‘, ‘Lastly, CEO Attorney Noh Jong-eon mentioned, “Concepts and choreography, unlike music, are currently in a legal blind spot regarding intellectual property rights protection,” and stated, “Even within the same label concept, the gaming industry label is more likely to infringe the intellectual property rights of the subsidiary compared to the fashion industry label. This is a case of abuse.”‘, ‘Reporter Lee Sunmyeong [email protected]’, Sports Trend Main News, ‘▶ Sports Trend SNS’, , , ‘▶’, , , ‘▶’, , ‘[ⓒSports Trend (‘, , ‘), unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited]’,