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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] IICOMBINED, the operator of the Gentle Monster, has filed a damages lawsuit against Blue Elephant, alleging design infringement amid slowing business performance.
According to the company, IICOMBINED is seeking approximately KRW 3 billion in damages, claiming that 16 sunglasses models by Blue Elephant imitated its own designs. The company stated that an internal review identified a high degree of similarity across at least 30 eyewear products.
IICOMBINED further emphasized that, based on expert-conducted 3D scanning analysis, Blue Elephant products showed a similarity rate of 99.9441% to the “JEFF” model released by Gentle Monster in August 2021. The company added that multiple other products demonstrated similarity levels exceeding 99% and 95%.
At the first court hearing held last month, however, Blue Elephant argued that eyewear products inherently consist of a limited number of structural components—such as lenses, bridges, and temples—making high similarity results in 3D scanning analyses inevitable.
Meanwhile, Blue Elephant has posted rapid financial growth. The company’s revenue surged from KRW 5.7 billion in 2023 to KRW 30 billion in 2024, representing more than a fivefold increase. Operating profit rose from KRW 1.2 billion to KRW 12.8 billion over the same period, marking more than tenfold growth. Its audited financial report for last year has yet to be disclosed.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
