Gonna Be Golden: KPop Demon Hunters Slays the IP Rulebook

Sterne Kessler director and head of the Trademark & Brand Protection Practice Monica Riva Talley spoke to World IP Review on the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) decision in favor of Netflix’s movie “KPop Demon Hunters.”

Prior to the movie’s release, Netflix did not register the domain name KPopDemonHunters.com leaving a private individual to register an identical domain. Netflix filed a complaint with WIPO, which ruled in favor of Netflix due to the film’s immense success in a short amount of time.

Talley explained, “While this opinion does not alter the traditional understanding of how common law trademark rights arise for film and franchise titles and related merchandise, it is an example of just how quickly that can occur for very popular entertainment titles.”

Talley also noted, “While not all coined or highly imaginative entertainment titles will enjoy an enforcement advantage, as they still will need to demonstrate consumer recognition, extreme distinctiveness certainly cuts against any arguments regarding innocent adoption.”