HYBE Files Lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court to Stop Fake BTS Products and Album Leaks

HYBE and Big Hit Music have taken legal action to protect BTS’s intellectual property. They are simultaneously implementing two measures: preventing the sale of counterfeit goods during BTS’s U.S. tour and tracking those responsible for album leaks.

On April 9, HYBE filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Florida against sellers of fake BTS products. The lawsuit aims to stop the sale of counterfeit T-shirts, posters, and other items in the area around Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, where BTS’s opening acts for the U.S. tour will take place on April 25, 26, and 28. In the complaint, HYBE stated that “counterfeit products are generally of poor quality, and their sale risks damaging the reputation of BTS and the company built through official licensed merchandise.”

Meanwhile, HYBE is also pursuing those who leaked BTS’s latest album, “ARIRANG.” Big Hit Music submitted a petition to a U.S. court requesting the identification of the owner of the X (formerly Twitter) account @jwngkcck. This account is believed to have leaked the lyrics and artwork of ARIRANG before its official release in early March. ARIRANG was officially released on March 20 and topped the Billboard 200 chart for three consecutive weeks. After receiving the user’s personal information from X, Big Hit Music plans to file a civil lawsuit in South Korea for copyright and trade secret infringement.

HYBE has previously used U.S. court subpoenas to identify anonymous users responsible for illegal online activities such as the spread of defamatory rumors about K-POP artists, allowing it to take legal action in South Korea. These recent measures demonstrate HYBE’s ongoing efforts to protect its rights against piracy and information leaks in the music industry.