BTS, HYBE Face Legal Charges Over 'I-Land' Copyright Infringement Issues

BTS and HYBE are facing legal charges over "I-Land" copyright infringement issues. 

Bryan Khan filed the lawsuit against BTS and HYBE in California this April 14. Khan was engaged in creating and producing TV series and audio music. He claimed that his concept for a similar program has been "stolen" to make "I-Land."

CJ E&M America was also included in the lawsuit, which is a US-based subsidiary of South Korean entertainment giant CJ E&M. This is where HYBE made the show.

"I-Land" was a reality K-Pop talent series that aired from June to September last year. It aimed to search for the next promising K-Pop stars.  

According to Kahn, he came up with the concept for a TV program called "Island Hip Hopping." On November 15, 2013, he registered the treatment for the show with the Writers Guild of America East. He added that he spent a considerable part of his time living in Asia as well as studying their culture. 

While living in Manila, he claimed that he worked and shared the concept of "Island Hip Hopping" with Eric Aguilar. During that time, Aguilar was the manager of Risk Emergency Defense Security Solutions, Inc. 

Kahn claimed that Aguilar confirmed that he (Aguilar) passed the series treatment of "Island Hip Hopping" off to Rita Magnus, who was the key executive of Netflix. 

The lawsuit also claimed that the defendants made an agreement with Samsung to run promoted advertisements during break periods, which featured both BTS and the Samsung Galaxy S20 phone. 

A part of the lawsuit reads, "Based on the above-mentioned actions, it is clear that the defendants have stolen and infringed on multiple occasions, and continue to steal and infringe upon Plaintiff's protected copyright." 

Khan demands a trial by jury and seeks damages along with the defendants' profits. He asks for the maximum statutory damages reaching $150,000 for each infringed work.