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Dunamu is entering the coin karaoke business? The meaning behind its new music-related trademark applications

[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that Dunamu, the operator of the cryptocurrency exchange 'Upbit', has recently filed for a large number of trademarks. These include trademarks mentioning playlists and coin karaoke. Dunamu is far removed from the music or karaoke business. This has led to analysis that it may be an attempt by Dunamu to expand into new business areas.

According to KIPRIS (Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service), Dunamu filed for trademarks in February of this year, including 'Bojagi', 'UPly', 'UPBIT Playlist', 'Upcoin', 'UPCOIN', 'UPCONO', 'Upkono', and 'Upbit Coin Karaoke'. Among these, 'Bojagi' is Dunamu's privacy protocol. 'Upcoin' appears to be related to Dunamu's core business, the cryptocurrency exchange.

On the other hand, it is difficult to find a connection between 'UPly' and 'Upbit Coin Karaoke' and Dunamu's existing business. The designated goods for 'UPly' and 'UPBIT Playlist' include 'downloadable multimedia files', 'computer software for music and audio production and editing', 'internet broadcasting', 'performance planning', and 'music production'.

Additionally, the designated goods for 'Upkono' and 'Upbit Coin Karaoke' include 'karaoke machines', 'graphic decoders for audio karaoke systems', 'machine-readable computer programs for music playback', 'digital music transmission', and 'internet broadcasting'. Taken together, it is interpreted that 'UPly' and 'UPBIT Playlist' are trademarks intended for music streaming playlists, while 'Upkono' and 'Upbit Coin Karaoke' are intended for the karaoke business. However, Dunamu has not stated an official position regarding the trademark applications.

Dunamu is currently pursuing a comprehensive stock swap with Naver035420 Financial. Once the process is complete, Dunamu will be incorporated as a Naver affiliate. After the incorporation, the 'UPly' and 'UPBIT Playlist' trademarks could potentially create synergy with 'VIBE', the music streaming service operated by Naver. However, it is difficult to find a clear connection between 'Upbit Coin Karaoke' and Naver.

Of course, it is possible that Dunamu or Naver could enter the karaoke business in the future. However, since coin karaoke is generally a business sector for small business owners, it does not seem appropriate for large corporations like Dunamu or Naver to enter it. Alternatively, they could enter the karaoke accompaniment machine manufacturing business. The domestic karaoke accompaniment machine market is currently divided between Kumyoung Entertainment and TJ Media033200. Observations have been raised that if Dunamu enters the manufacturing of accompaniment machines, a new type of machine incorporating IT or artificial intelligence (AI) could emerge.

Most of Dunamu's revenue comes from commissions from its Upbit and Stockplus platforms. According to its quarterly report, 97.94% (1.1633 trillion KRW) of Dunamu's 1.1878 trillion KRW revenue for the first three quarters of last year came from commission fees. In other words, if a problem occurs with Upbit, there is virtually no alternative source of income. This is the background for the assessment that Dunamu needs to expand into new businesses.