BTOB (Image via group's official Twitter)Mnet's show, Street Man Fighter, sparked controversy after viewers noted that it repeatedly referred to one of its dance crews as 'BIIB' (pronounced BtoB). The acronym, which is being used for the dance crew BANK2BROTHERS, came under fire because of its similarity with the K-pop group BTOB.Fans pointed out that the crew would be known as 'BtoB', which is how its name was written during voting, thereby making it similar to that of the K-pop group. Later, fans also noticed that the dance crew’s logo resembled the one that the K-pop group had used in their past promotions.All these similarities led to the BTOB fandom trending #CUBEPROTECTBTOB on social media and demanding an apology from Mnet.born to be a melo 💥@babymelorieplease help rt this thread so other know the full story of what is going on.the issue started when the fanbase of BankTwoBrothers (a dance crew joining SMF), used the hashtag #비투비 in their tweet.#CUBEPROTECTBTOB@OFFICIALBTOB@cubeunited@CUBEENTGLOBAL@BTOB__STAFF630795please help rt this thread so other know the full story of what is going on.the issue started when the fanbase of BankTwoBrothers (a dance crew joining SMF), used the hashtag #비투비 in their tweet.#CUBEPROTECTBTOB@OFFICIALBTOB@cubeunited@CUBEENTGLOBAL@BTOB__STAFF https://t.co/n6GDmMpWT0Mnet confirmed the competing dance crew for the show on July 6, 2022. The crew also had their own promotional suit profile video. As soon as the profiles came out, viewers noticed similarities with BTOB, going on to speculate that Mnet had done it on purpose to misguide people into thinking the crew was an idol group.Fans speculate that BTOB’s name is deliberately being used in the show, protects the group's identityAccording to fans, the idol group’s agency Cube Entertainment has trademarked 'BIIB' under the group’s name with several other keywords related to them, thereby making Mnet's use a trademark infringement.mellowmelo | Huta BOOM💥 | 27.06.2022@mellowbtobfanWhy are we making a big deal of it? Because these names are TRADEMARKED! BTOB, BIIB, BORN TO BEAT and 비투비 are registered under @cubeunited #CUBEPROTECTBTOB @OFFICIALBTOB@MnetKR #MNETBeResponsible331227Why are we making a big deal of it? Because these names are TRADEMARKED! BTOB, BIIB, BORN TO BEAT and 비투비 are registered under @cubeunited #CUBEPROTECTBTOB @OFFICIALBTOB@MnetKR #MNETBeResponsible https://t.co/RkE4Xe8xUbIn response, fans trended the #CUBEPROTECTBTOB hashtag as they called upon Cube Entertainment to protect the group and take immediate action against the unauthorised usage. They also demanded an apology from Mnet.yookdye ✋🏻👆🏻@sung6jaethese people saying there’s nothing wrong but go crazy when they find similarities in their idols’ MV and promotional concepts.. what more if it’s the group name being copied! #CUBEPROTECTBTOB#MNETBeResponsible830373these people saying there’s nothing wrong but go crazy when they find similarities in their idols’ MV and promotional concepts.. what more if it’s the group name being copied! #CUBEPROTECTBTOB#MNETBeResponsibleClueless0706@clueless0706Whoever is seeing this, whether a fan or a non-fan, please read this and if you think this happened to your group, would you stay quiet. It's not just a similarity, it's a case of trademark infringement. Please help us be loud. #CUBEPROTECTBTOB#MNETBeResponsible@cubeunited twitter.com/notpannchoa2/s…notpannchoa/notpannkpop/notnetizenbuzz@notpannchoa2[ notpannchoa ] Melody call out Mnet for lack of business ethics for appropriating BTOB's name to a crew on Street Man Fighter549442[ notpannchoa ] Melody call out Mnet for lack of business ethics for appropriating BTOB's name to a crew on Street Man Fighter https://t.co/a5l3O6TRHsWhoever is seeing this, whether a fan or a non-fan, please read this and if you think this happened to your group, would you stay quiet. It's not just a similarity, it's a case of trademark infringement. Please help us be loud. #CUBEPROTECTBTOB#MNETBeResponsible@cubeunited twitter.com/notpannchoa2/s…sekar ♡⁷ • BOOM 💥@slowbluestTHE ONE AND ONLY BTOB (비투비) IS BORN TO BEAT!!!! SEO EUNKWANG LEE MINHYUK LEE CHANGSUB IM HYUNSIK PENIEL JUNG ILHOON YOOK SUNGJAE!!! just be creative and find another name and slogan or just use ur original name!!#CUBEPROTECTBTOB#MNETBeResponsible160140THE ONE AND ONLY BTOB (비투비) IS BORN TO BEAT!!!! SEO EUNKWANG LEE MINHYUK LEE CHANGSUB IM HYUNSIK PENIEL JUNG ILHOON YOOK SUNGJAE!!! just be creative and find another name and slogan or just use ur original name!!#CUBEPROTECTBTOB#MNETBeResponsibledemi 💥@demissiiCOME ON @MnetKR ! "비투비 was already an acronym being used by BankTwoBrothers" ??? SERIOUSLY?! UH BUT ALL I KNOW IS BORN TO BEAT HAS BEEN USING THE ACRONYM 비투비 (BTOB) FOR 10 YEARS NOW! I REPEAT TEN YEARS! WE DEMAND AN APOLOGY!#MNETBeResponsible #MNETApologizeToBTOB4154COME ON @MnetKR ! "비투비 was already an acronym being used by BankTwoBrothers" ??? SERIOUSLY?! UH BUT ALL I KNOW IS BORN TO BEAT HAS BEEN USING THE ACRONYM 비투비 (BTOB) FOR 10 YEARS NOW! I REPEAT TEN YEARS! WE DEMAND AN APOLOGY!#MNETBeResponsible #MNETApologizeToBTOB☾ | CS’S BALD HEAD@BTOBEACSWhen i was looking at that show’s official acc they never wrote “비투비” because they know what they’re doing. And they didn’t use on yt hashtags either. They used BTOB just to get people’s attention. That’s even more upsetting.#MNETApologizeToBTOB8361When i was looking at that show’s official acc they never wrote “비투비” because they know what they’re doing. And they didn’t use on yt hashtags either. They used BTOB just to get people’s attention. That’s even more upsetting.#MNETApologizeToBTOB혜린 🦕@melody_btob6Trust me. If this hashtag reach 50k, mnet will make their unwilling apology statement for #BTOB @MnetKR #MNETApologizeToBTOB #비투비1621Trust me. If this hashtag reach 50k, mnet will make their unwilling apology statement for #BTOB 😌@MnetKR #MNETApologizeToBTOB #비투비 https://t.co/MNbAknKHVSㅁㄹㅂㅅ@alephant6Melody, i see our mass tweet is disturbing their agenda, yes they clarify but they dont apologize Let us continue our agenda untill we get that proper apologizeSorry not sorry @MnetKR you have cross the line so many times we have had enough@OFFICIALBTOB #MnetApologizeToBTOB111128Melody, i see our mass tweet is disturbing their agenda, yes they clarify but they dont apologize Let us continue our agenda untill we get that proper apologizeSorry not sorry @MnetKR you have cross the line so many times we have had enough@OFFICIALBTOB #MnetApologizeToBTOBWhat are the other similarities between Mnet's dance crew and the K-pop group?Apart from the logo and the acronym, fans also noted that the dance crew's catchphrase, "Born To Be Hip" was similar to the meaning of BTOB, which stands for:“Born to Beat."Furthermore, many spotted a peculiarity in the YouTube videos that Mnet had posted for the show. All the dance crews confirmed for the show had videos with their full Korean names. The only exception was BANK2BROTHERS, who instead used the acronym similar to the K-pop group's name.Some viewers also said that, owing to the similarity in names, they had initially thought it was an idol group that was participating on the show.How did Cube Entertainment respond to the infringement?BTOB·비투비@OFFICIALBTOB안녕하세요. 큐브엔터테인먼트입니다.97184611안녕하세요. 큐브엔터테인먼트입니다. https://t.co/hVEIopYWjXIn response to the outrage on social media, Cube Entertainment resolved the issue on July 8, 2022, and shared an official statement about it on the group's Twitter handle:YQSupremacy@Issalation@kkaebsonggg07 @OFFICIALBTOB111@kkaebsonggg07 @OFFICIALBTOB https://t.co/swb4WNG3yrIn the statement, the agency revealed that after addressing the issue with the Mnet team, the latter had agreed to only use the full name of the dance crew henceforth, and also take adequate steps to change the logo and catchphrase which came under fire.Following the statement from the group's agency, fans are now relieved that the group's name is protected.