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Lee Soo-man’s private company 'Blooming Grace' files a flurry of entertainment-related trademark applications

[비즈한국] Following the trademark application for 'A2O Entertainment' by Blooming Grace, a private company owned by Lee Soo-man, it has been confirmed that the firm has filed a slew of additional entertainment-related trademarks. Between May and July, Blooming Grace filed for trademarks including 'Blooming Music Publishing,' 'Dori-Manwon,' 'Zzal-Shorts,' and 'Zzal-Pop.' All of these trademarks were registered under 'Class 41,' which covers entertainment and recreation services. This suggests that Lee Soo-man is gearing up to launch his domestic entertainment business in earnest.

Trademark filings and expansion of corporate purpose

When Blooming Grace filed the 'A2O Entertainment' trademark on May 3, speculation arose that Lee Soo-man was preparing for a domestic entertainment venture (Related article: [Exclusive] Lee Soo-man files 'A2O Entertainment' trademark... What about the 'non-compete' agreement with HYBE352820?).

According to KIPRIS, the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service, the company filed additional trademarks on May 29, including a logo of a musical note on a tree, 'BLOOMING MUSIC PUBLISHING,' and 'Dori-Manwon.'

Subsequently, on July 5, Blooming Grace filed for 10 trademarks including 'Zal-Song,' 'Zal-Pop,' 'Zal-Dance,' 'Zal-Show,' 'Zzal-Shorts,' 'Zzal-Pop,' 'Zzal-Show,' 'Zal-Shorts,' 'Zzal-Dance,' and 'Zzal-Song.' These were registered under classification categories 09, 35, 38, 41, and 42, covering sectors such as △entertainment and recreation, △advertising, △recorded and downloadable media, △telecommunications services, and △design.

On August 23, Blooming Grace added several objectives to its articles of incorporation. According to the corporate registry, the added purposes include △investment and funding for investment companies, △office support services for subsidiaries (joint development/sales of goods and services, shared use of facilities and IT systems), △management and licensing of intellectual property such as brands and trademarks, and △investments in startups and new technologies.

However, entertainment-related business was not included in the corporate objectives. In February of last year, Lee Soo-man signed a stock purchase agreement with HYBE, in which he agreed not to engage in domestic entertainment business for three years.

‘Illegal building’ purchased for 15 billion won legalized and registered as a branch

Following the trademark filings, Blooming Grace also registered a 'branch office.' On July 31, the company registered a building in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, as a branch; this is the same building Lee Soo-man purchased for 15 billion won last September (Related article: [Exclusive] Lee Soo-man buys 'illegal building' next to former SM headquarters in Cheongdam-dong for 15 billion won). It is located right next to the former SM Celebrity Center.

At the time of Lee Soo-man's purchase, the building was registered as an ‘illegal building’ because the 3rd to 5th floors, which were registered as multi-family housing in 2022, had been converted into neighborhood living facilities (offices) without authorization. Before registering it as a branch, the illegal status was resolved. According to the building register, Lee changed the usage of the 1st through 5th floors from multi-family housing to Class 2 neighborhood living facilities on January 5.

A representative for Blooming Grace stated regarding the utilization plans for the trademarks and the branch office, "Nothing has been decided specifically."