"We truly apologize to the fans that love BTS": Cosmetics brand LALALEES withdraws "borahae" copyright

Cosmetics brand LALALEES came under fire recently for filing a trademark/copyright for the term "borahae." According to a site that displays registered and requested copyrights, LALALEES had sought copyrighted clearance for the term in September 2020.

ARMYs trended #ProtectBorahae and explained that the term had been coined by BTS’ V.

V coined "BORAHAE " on November 13, 2016 at 3rd Muster for ARMYS which means that he will love and trust us till end. But meaning isn't just this but more than this. It's a special connect b/w BTS and us. Pls not for commercial purpose#ipurpleyou💜#ProtectBorahae Pic not mine pic.twitter.com/1eNfvhjjfN

— Bhavya (@Bhavya2903) May 29, 2021

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LALALEES response regarding "borahae" and BTS’ V

Update regarding the application to "Borahae" trademark registration. The cosmetics company Lalalees released a statement that they will cancel the application for trademark registration of Borahae.🔗 https://t.co/fB224CWt6K pic.twitter.com/m1iEDON18T

— julia 줄리아🧈 (@armyarchives_) May 31, 2021

After much public pressure, LALALEES, a nail specialist brand, posted a statement apologizing to BTS fans and revealed that they will drop their claims to the term.

"Last September 2020, our company requested the copyrights for the term ‘BORAHAE’, and we truly apologize to the fans that love BTS for causing concern.⁣ Our company has decided to give up copyrights to the term for the further development of K-Pop and we will take action as soon as possible.⁣ Going forward, as Koreans, we wish BTS good luck in their future endeavors in spreading K-Pop to the world.” — LALALEE’S

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Why were ARMYs asking LALALEES to withdraw the copyright?

LALALEES had filed for a trademark on the word "borahae.” However, ARMY explained that "borahae" had been coined by BTS' V. They also pointed out that "borahae" is an integral part of BTS fandom.

During a BTS concert in 2016, V coined the term “borahae” or “I Purple You,” which means "I’ll love you till the end of days." Purple (violet) is the last color of the rainbow. The phrase combines two Korean words: Violet (bora) and I love you (saranghae).

Borahae was created by TAEHYUNG, it's KIM TAEHYUNG's intellectual property. #ProtectBorahaepic.twitter.com/GzgHaIJBbW

— 뷔USA¹¹⁸🇺🇲 (@V_USA) May 29, 2021

Ever since then, "borahae" has become synonymous with BTS and ARMY. It is used in many BTS collaborations, such as Starbucks Korea, Samsung, Baskin Robbins, and McDonald's. Iconic landmarks such as London Bridge and Wembley Stadium have been lit up in shades of purple to honor BTS.

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Fans email HYBE to copyright V’s “borahae”

Admin: Please do your due diligence and send an email to HYBE regarding Borahae. Make sure to change the subject of the email to avoid being considered as spam https://t.co/ELUpjtLFtm

— TTP 🌸 (@thetaeprint) May 29, 2021

As soon as the news of the copyright broke out, ARMYs started mass mailing HYBE Labels to trademark "borahae" to avoid such issues in the future.