(Social Media) ? T.O.P Instagram 2019-12-12 13:20:12 (KST)

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[Social Media] ? T.O.P Instagram Story 2019-12-12 14:30:55 (KST)

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(Social Media) ? T.O.P Instagram 2019-12-12 17:26:36 (KST)

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YG holds a crucial aspect of their career.

Stock market analysts are busy predicting the potential of entertainment agencies in 2020, and YG Entertainment‘s predicted value weighs extremely high on whether the BIGBANG members will renew their contracts.

If BIGBANG promotes, BIGBANG’s profits are predicted to be 30 billion won (~$25 million USD). If not, they will likely reach 10 billion won (~$8 million USD).

— Yuanta Securities Korea Co. Ltd

[YG Entertainment] received lower targets in light of uncertainties regarding BIGBANG’s contract renewals.

— Hanhwa Investments & Securities Ltd

Whether or not BIGBANG resigns with [YG] is the biggest variable for our estimate.

— Mirae Asset Daewoo

Market analysts predict G-Dragon and Taeyang will most likely renew their contract with YG because of the trademarks on their stage names.

YG Entertainment currently holds the Korean copyrights to “G-DRAGON” in both Korean and English. They had filed for the copyrights back in 2003, years before BIGBANG’s debut in 2006.

In 2015, YG filed for the copyrights of “TAEYANG” and “GD X TAEYANG”. They were unable to obtain the copyrights for “Taeyang” in Korean because it is a proper noun meaning the sun.

If G-Dragon and Taeyang decide to leave YG Entertainment, they will not be able to promote with their stage name without the consent and permission from YG Entertainment. G-Dragon will most likely be unable to use even “GD” as it is affiliated with “G-DRAGON” as copyright.

Analysts believe their stage names are a crucial part of their careers as both artists have promoted solely as G-Dragon and Taeyang since their debut. Their birth names are have rarely been utilized in the past 13 years.

 

Reports also pointed out precedents of previous groups that had also faced similar difficulties. H.O.T, a group that disbanded back in 2001, still face difficulties promoting by their name even today as SM Entertainment holds the rights to their group name. When the members of BEAST left Cube Entertainment, they had to change their group name entirely to HIGHLIGHT after losing their lawsuit.

Analysts believe G-Dragon and Taeyang will most likely renew with YG Entertainment since the company holds the upper hand with their copyrights.

If there is zero chance of all of BIGBANG moving to another agency, G-Dragon and Taeyang will most likely promote as soloists if they don’t renew their contracts.

As such, YG Entertainment has the advantage of getting them to renew since they hold the copyrights.

— Securities Firm Representative

 

Source: Herald Pop via Koreaboo

Kwon Jiyong and Dong Youngbae will not be able to promote as ‘GDragon’ and ‘Taeyang’ if they leave YG Entertainment.

An exclusive report on December 12th revealed that the trademark of Kwon Jiyong and Dong Youngbae’s stage names — ‘GDragon’ and ‘Taeyang’ — are currently under YG Entertainment. According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, YG Entertainment registered GDragon’s name (both in Korean and English) in 2003. In 2015, the agency registered ‘Taeyang’ and ‘GDXTaeyang.’

Image Source: Instiz

A representative from the Korean Intellectual Property Office also revealed, “It would be also difficult for Kwon Jiyong to use ‘GD’ without permission or private contract with trademark holders because ‘GD’ is a part of the registered trademark ‘GDragon.’

Meanwhile, all BIGBANG members will need to consider their contracts with the agency in the near future, as their contract will expire soon.

Thumbnail Credit: Nike, YG Entertainment, GQ, Source: 1

(Social Media) ? T.O.P Instagram 2019-12-11 14:45:48 (KST)

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[Social Media] Instagram Story 2019-12-11 18:28:06 (KST)

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Also check out the individual Instagram Posts at: BIGBANG 빅뱅 Instagram

[Social Media] G-Dragon 2019-12-10 00:58:39 (KST)

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#BabaraKruger

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[Social Media] G-Dragon 2019-12-10 03:43:59 (KST)

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[Social Media] G-Dragon 2019-12-10 15:38:03 (KST)

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??

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[Social Media] G-Dragon 2019-12-10 16:08:53 (KST)

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(Social Media) ? T.O.P Instagram 2019-12-10 17:31:38 (KST)

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[Social Media] Instagram Story 2019-12-10 19:15:09 (KST)

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Barbara Kruger?

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[Social Media] Taeyang 2019-12-09 12:19:30 (KST)

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#Blues

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#Blues

#태양 #Taeyang #SOL

(Social Media) ? T.O.P Instagram 2019-12-09 15:49:30 (KST)

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(Social Media) ? T.O.P Instagram 2019-12-09 17:42:47 (KST)

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Also check out the individual Instagram Posts at: BIGBANG 빅뱅 Instagram