Gentle Monster Sues Emerging Brand Over Alleged Design and Store Copying
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
Korean eyewear leader Gentle Monster (brand: 젠틀몬스터) has launched civil and criminal legal action against new domestic label Blue Elephant (블루엘리펀트), alleging that the newcomer copied its sunglasses, optical frames and even store interiors, harming Gentle Monster’s brand value and confusing consumers. Operator i&i Combined says there is no business or manufacturing link between the two, but an internal probe found high similarities across more than 30 eyewear items. Independent 3D scanning analysis reportedly showed up to 99.9441% similarity between Gentle Monster’s 2021 ‘JEFF’ model and a Blue Elephant product, with many other items at 95–99% likeness. i&i Combined filed a criminal complaint in December, sought provisional attachments in March and June, and sued under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act in October; it also requested invalidation proceedings at the Patent Tribunal over disputed store design elements. The dispute centers on product design, store layout (매장 인테리어), and alleged consumer confusion over brand origin.
