EOUL — South Korea’s Intellectual Property Office has thrown up a roadblock to HYBE’s efforts to trademark the iconic “I purple you” term BTS member V created during a fan meeting six years ago.
The KIPO says that HYBE’s trademark application for V’s “I purple you (Borahae) cannot be registered as its application has been filed against the principle of good faith,” according to a notice sent to the company.
The patent and trademark office essentially says that HYBE, the parent company of BTS label Big Hit, is not allowed to trademark the phrase that V uttered, even though he is signed to HYBE, because he used it first.
V, real name Kim Tae-hyung, first created the phrase “Borahae” during a Nov. 13, 2016 fan meeting, when he said, “Borahae, like the last color of the rainbow purple (bora), means we will to the end trust each other and love each other for a long time,” the KIPO said.
“I purple you” has become synonymous with BTS. So much so that McDonald’s, in its collaboration with the group, has used the term on the side of its purple-packaged BTS Meals, which have become yet another collectible for fans.
In 2018, after BTS launched its “LOVE MYSELF” campaign, Henrietta H. Fore, the executive director of UNICEF, used the term in a special video thanking the group for its work in helping raise money for a campaign to end violence against children. “We here at UNICEF purple you,” she said at the end of her speech.
In explaining its refusal to allow HYBE to secure a trademark, however, the KIPO sided with V as the creator: “We accept that the applicant has filed a trademark that is similar to or the same as a trademark used by a different person that has a contractual or working relationship such as partnership or employment.”
V, real name Kim Tae-hyung, first created the phrase “Borahae” during a Nov. 13, 2016 fan meeting, when he said, “Borahae, like the last color of the rainbow purple (bora), means we will to the end trust each other and love each other for a long time,” the KIPO said.
“I purple you” has become synonymous with BTS. So much so that McDonald’s, in its collaboration with the group, has used the term on the side of its purple-packaged BTS Meals, which have become yet another collectible for fans.