A finding has been made that eyewear brand Blue Elephant copied Gentle Monster's eyeglasses pouch design. The two companies are continuing civil and criminal lawsuits over alleged copying of eyewear products.
According to IICOMBINED, which operates Gentle Monster, on the 22nd, Gentle Monster won the invalidation trial it filed against Blue Elephant's design registration. The Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board found that Blue Elephant's registered design was similar to Gentle Monster's existing pouch design and thus lacked novelty.
Earlier, in 2021, Gentle Monster unveiled an eyeglasses pouch featuring a distinctive pleated metal ornament. Afterward, in the first half of 2023, Blue Elephant released a pouch of a similar form and completed its design registration in June of the same year.
During the trial, the company is said to have emphasized structural similarities by submitting materials showing the disassembly of actual products. It cited as issues the natural pleated structure at the opening, the position and shape of the metal ornaments on both sides of the top, the placement method of the stitching lines, and the structure and pattern of the internal reinforcement.
IICOMBINED said, "Beyond a simple controversy over design similarity, there was even an attempt to obtain rights through the partial examination registration system for a design similar to products already disclosed by another company," adding, "While the general examination system goes through procedures to review the existence of prior designs, the partial examination registration system allows registration in a relatively simplified manner, which was taken advantage of."
Regarding the outcome, the company added, "This is a case that put the brakes on the act of copying another company's design and turning it into rights," and "It is significant in that it reaffirms the principle of proper protection for creation and brand building."
Meanwhile, a former Blue Elephant CEO, a person surnamed Choi, has been on trial since February for alleged violations of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act. Choi was indicted and detained on charges of selling 51 types and a total of about 321,000 items of imitation products of Gentle Monster's popular items, including sunglasses, from February 2023 to June last year.