South Korean label giant HYBE’s request to trademark the term ‘BORAHAE’ - which was coined by BTS member V, has been denied by The Korean Intellectual Property Office.

As reported by Korean tabloid Soompi, the term ‘BORAHAE’ was first spoken by BTS member V at a fan meeting in November 2016 and is used between BTS and their fans ARMY with the message, “Just as purple is the last color of the rainbow, I will trust and love you until the very end.” The phrase has since then become synonymous with BTS.

Per the report, in June 2021, HYBE – BTS’ management agency – tried have ‘BORAHAE’ trademarked under it name in order to protect the rights of its company and artists. However, that request has been denied as KIPO noted, “The term ‘BORAHAE’ is a new word invented by group member V (Kim Tae Hyung) at a BTS fan meeting on November 13, 2016.”

They further stated that the application could not be accepted as it went against “the principles of good faith.” KIPO went on to state that the individual entitled to the trademark is not Big Hit but rather V who first invented the phrase. They point out that Big Hit is not V and is rather a company that “has a partnership and employer-employee relationship with Kim Tae Hyung.”

“The applicant (HYBE) is recognized to have applied for trademark rights even though they know that it is a trademark used by V,” KIPO explained.

Meanwhile, BTS members have all released collaborations in recent times. V released his OST ‘Christmas Tree’ for the Korean drama Our Beloved Summer. V was also featured on Benny Blanco’s track ‘Bad Decisions’ along with Jin, Jimin and Jungkook. RM recently did a song collaboration with Balming Tiger on ‘Sexy Nukim’; SUGA collaborated with PSY on ‘That That’ whereas Jimin released an OST ‘With You’ with Ha Sung Woon for K-drama Our Blues; Jin worked on viral solo track ‘Super Tuna’ and an OST ‘Yours’ for Korean drama Jirisan. J-Hope was the first one to drop his solo album in July 2022 with Jack In The Box with two lead tracks ‘MORE’ and ‘ARSON’. He will release his collaboration ‘Rush Hour’ with Crush on September 22.

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