Legal Dispute Between NewJeans and ADOR Over Group Name Intensifies; Warning Sent After ‘NewJeanz’ Account Is Created

NewJeans is engaged in a legal battle with its agency ADOR regarding the use of the group name. Comprising five members, NewJeans has been recognized as one of the most successful groups in K-POP history, but it now faces issues stemming from the group name itself. The members announced on November 28 that they had terminated their contract with ADOR, yet they remain unable to officially use the name NewJeans even after the contract ended, as ADOR holds the trademark rights to the group name. To circumvent this restriction, the NewJeans members created a new Instagram account at @jeanzforfree on December 14 and attempted independent activities under the name ‘NewJeanz.’ However, ADOR promptly sent a warning. In a statement, ADOR stated that “any social media account established outside of ADOR violates the exclusive contract between ADOR and NewJeans.” It also warned that “advertisers and other relevant parties have already raised questions and complaints about how their content will be posted, and further activities through the [NewJeanz] account could lead to legal issues.” ADOR added, “There are official social media platforms such as X and Instagram, as well as communication platform services, which serve as official channels for NewJeans to interact with fans,” and expressed hope that the members would communicate with fans through these official channels. The NewJeans members—Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein—are currently introducing themselves only by their individual names. Even when they appeared as guests at Japanese music group Yoasobi’s concert on December 7, they performed under their individual names rather than using the group name. As more groups leave their agencies in the K-POP industry, issues related to trademarks and copyrights have become increasingly prominent. The dispute between NewJeans and ADOR, along with the conflict between the former and current agencies of boy band The Boyz, illustrates this trend. It is expected that this dispute could take several months to years to resolve until the NewJeans members purchase the ‘NewJeans’ group name from ADOR. While the members cannot perform the group’s songs without ADOR’s permission, they still receive compensation when the songs are played or albums are sold. However, their rights to the songs are limited to those as singers who recorded the audio, and they only hold copyright over the portions they contributed to through songwriting or composition.