‘A.R.M.Y’ warn Cayetano: ‘BTS’ is trademarked

‘DYNAMITE’ This handout photo taken in Seoul on Sept. 2 shows K-pop group BTS members posing for a picture as they hold an online global media day. —BIG HIT ENTERTAINMENT/AFP

MANILA, Philippines — Fans of the biggest Korean pop (K-pop) act BTS have warned Taguig City Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano against dragging the band into his political ambitions.

BTS fans, who fondly call themselves “A.R.M.Y,” took to cyberspace on Wednesday their messages of caution to Cayetano, including reviving an old statement of BTS’ management Big Hit Entertainment about the unauthorized use of the international sensation’s imagery and trademarks.

Some A.R.M.Y claimed that using the band’s name without permission is “forbidden.”

In their tweets, they tagged Big Hit and BTS’ official Twitter account to complain about what Cayetano did.

#CayetanoStopUsingBTS
Bighit Entertainment please stop
Cayetano from using BTS for clout!@BigHitEnt @bts_bighit @BTS_twt pic.twitter.com/4Sq2l9vxgx

— Carol V. (@CarolVillavice9) January 13, 2021

https://twitter.com/kookiejarfull/status/1349231252251922435

Just in February 2020, Big Hit Entertainment won a trademark lawsuit against a cosmetic firm in Korea, where the latter was found to have intentionally used the “BTS” name on its products to cause confusion.

READ: BTS agency wins trademark suit against cosmetics firm 

However, several BTS fans also discouraged fellow A.R.M.Y members from tweeting about Cayetano and BTS, asserting that the politician is only using it for clout and to get attention.

A so-called Army Protection Squad on Twitter which has over 31,000 followers as of writing has echoed the same sentiments, advising Filipino BTS fans to stop using hashtags containing Cayetano’s name and BTS to avoid making it trend on social media.

We are getting tagged by PH ar*ys for a certain issue surrounding po*itics.

Guys, they want noise. But because they can't make it by themselves, they are using an active fandom. They are having a famous group's fans MAKE THAT NOISE FOR THEM.

— ARMY⁷ Protection Squad (@ProtectionArmy) January 12, 2021

To date, the group’s fan base BTS A.R.M.Y is estimated to be at least 130 million worldwide.

Cayetano drew flak for creating a new faction in the House of Representatives and calling it “BTS sa Kongreso” (BTS in Congress) — a seven-man bloc, like the K-pop boy band.

The hashtag #CayetanoStopUsingBTS trended on social media after the congressman publicized his new coalition that includes him, Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Villafuerte, Laguna 1st District Rep. Dan Fernandez, Anakalusugan Partylist Rep. Mike Defensor, Bulacan 1st District Rep. Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, and Capiz 2nd District Rep. Fredenil Castro.

Cayetano then clarified earlier that the BTS tag is not meant to offend fans, but is a mere acronym for “Back To Service” at Congress.

KGA

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New House bloc emerges, but K-Pop fans react: Don’t use name of ‘BTS’