BELIFT Lab is under fire for utilizing a font in ENHYPEN’s album without obtaining proper authorization.
On May 25, 2024, a user shared a post on the popular Korean online community forum Instiz titled “BELIFT Lab accused of using Margot Leveque’s font without permission for ENHYPEN’s album.”
The original poster disclosed that ENHYPEN’s May 2023 album, “Dark Blood,”uses the Romie font in both regular and italic styles. The logos have been slightly modified, and a custom-made diamond semi-colon has been incorporated in the “Bite Me”teasers.
Although the font, Romie, is typically paid for, it can be downloaded at no cost for non-commercial use. This allows individuals to utilize Romie for free in their creative projects that do not generate profit. However, since the font was used for an album that is being sold to fans worldwide, it does not meet the requirements for using Romie for free.
Despite creating the font, typographer Margot Leveque did not overlook the fact that it was used by ENHYPEN. In a public outburst on her Instagram account, she sarcastically praised the band for their use of her font, calling it “lovely”and “quite cool.”However, she also demanded compensation for the use of her font.
Many people who saw the post shared their disappointment, which was not unexpected. In the last two months, HYBE has faced multiple allegations of plagiarism, whether it involves other K-pop idols or artists. These accusations have accused the company of copying various elements for their groups.
It is a source of curiosity for many how HYBE has once again found itself embroiled in a plagiarism scandal. Critics have accused the company of lacking awareness of copyright laws and condemned their belief that they can freely use content without giving credit or compensation.
Despite previous criticism for their lack of originality, BELIFT Lab has recently faced further backlash after Min Hee Jin accused them and HYBE of copying NewJeans’s formula for ILLIT’s debut. This has only intensified the accusations against them.
Several comments were found stating,
- “I can’t believe an entertainment company has no awareness of copyright.”
- “Wow, it’s them again.”
- “Again? They have been plagiarizing things up until now and probably don’t even realize what they are doing is wrong.”
- “Again?”
- “Is this how they use fonts? This is how they use fonts that aren’t from a commercial font site?”
- “It’s from the designer’s original account, and they know it since they took the front from her. But this company thinks the whole world is theirs to freely plagiarize.”
- “No, but why is it always them?”
- “It’s this company again…”
- “Phew… I was just thinking about how pretty this font was.”
- “BELIFT Lab seems to have no awareness of copyright.”
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