Of course, the official reason was because of the legal battles concerning his name, but investors, sponsors and organizers of Rain’s US concerts think otherwise. Since Rain has a track record of cancelling or postponing his concerts in the past, many are claiming that he purposely cancelled his US concerts to make sure that his investors loss money. That’s just plain stupid, but I can understand why investors think that.
First of all, all their investments went down the drain. All the money they spent on preparing for the concert are gone, in fact they just won themselves the endless headaches of dealing with ticket refunds. But the fact that Rain hasn’t rescheduled or confirmed whether or not he’s even going to perform in the future is what really angers these deep pocketed ajusshis. Any idiot knows that you need to be on good terms with your investors, but obviously Rain hasn’t caught on the business common sense.
In addition, reports about Rain starting to film Speed Racer in July under the name Rain, instead of Jung Ji Hoon is just adding fuel to the fire. Finally, this legal battle started in February, which gave Rain plenty of time to work around it, but the fact he cancelled his concert the last minute somewhat confirms the investor’s theory and demonstrates that although Rain might be a wonderful dancer on stage, he’s one incompetent businessman.
Related:
Will Rain change his name?
i think it went wrong from the point where he chose to work with StarM…they really don’t know how to handle things well
and its understandable that Rain isn’t going to be a pro at being a buisness man, because until this concert tour really…nothings hes never really had to deal with something so big and complicated. when certain issues as these appeared, i would think that Park Jinyoung, would have naturally taken charge of these kinds of issues
this is just a huge mess
I’m guessing a lack of ticket sales might be a factor. Rather than have the World’s Most Influential Person debasing himself by playing in small to medium-sized venues for his few fans in America, his team would rather announce some huge gig and then cancel it when tickets don’t sell to expectations.
Give Bi a time! He’s like everywhere and not everything can happen at the same time! Marry me if JunKi resists my offer!! lol
well…i wasnt supposed to go to one of his concerts so…whatever!! hahaha
is it only the Hawaii concert that has been canceled? or is it the whole tour?
my understanding is that they canceled the Hawaii concert because it was too close to the date of the verdict about his name. I think the concert was supposed to be on the 15th?
I dunno….sucks for him….
But i think it’s pretty stupid for the people in charge to make the decision this late when they had all the time in the world to do it. Sucks for the fans…and the sponsors. He better give a press conference ASAP to explain himself. I heard he is supposed to start filming Speed Racer next month, so i don’t think it has to do with the movie. Wasn’t he supposed to be done w/ the US tour by the time he started filming?
Whatever….
Hope everything turns out for the best….
As I have said on shenyue’s blog Rain left JYP management to early. He is just now steppin his foot of the door to the world. Why leave someone that helped you to get to where you are at and knowing how much you could have gain with that person. JYP was the one who got Rain to where he is at(also his god given talent),but JYP was the one who introduced Rain to so many famous people(P-Diddy, Usher, Omarion, Lil Kim,etc) here in the US. JYP was the one to send information about Rain to Times magazine,which lead him to be added to the list of 100 Most Influential People. That lead Rain to the Times after party where he meet with the producers of the upcoming Speed Racer movie. Also JYP has already established himself in the music industry here in the states. Where many of his songs he produced reached the top 10 on the billboard or even number 1. I feel that Rain needs to think things over and try to get back under the guidence of JYP and his management company because if not I don’t think Rain can make it yet in the states on his name alone.
i totally agree with cjlatina…
Rain needs to return to JYP ASAP!!
I do not think he is quite ready to handle so many things on his own.
I hope everything turns out ok and he is able to keep his name….
I think the whole name ordeal is stupid. Its like say someone else name is ex: BoA Kwon and another person’s name happens to be BoA Kwon. Should the one who came out first sue her for having the same name as the other? I know Rain/Bi is his stage name, but realistically those guys aren’t going to make big time like Bi will. Whose even heard of this “Rain Group”? no one basically lol they should give it a rest because they obviously really suck if they’ve been out this long and we netizens in general have never heard of them. With the investors thing, anyone can understand why their pissed, they lost money. I wonder maybe if the “other party ‘Rain’” used legal means to halt is concert which give Bi no choice but to postpone it. Also I don’t see why he can’t use his stage name when filming. Though he could say Rain aka Jung Ji Hoon, many artists do that these days. AnYwHo AJA AJA FIGHTING BI!!!
i am so disappointed that his concert just got cancelled. i had tickets to his show here in hawaii and just by chance saw a glimpse of the news that said his performance was cancelled. still a fan but damn…
Seriously he should just go by the artist formerly know as Rain…but really Ji-Hoon is fine to me. Its not like Americans know who he is anyway. I know names are very important in this business. I don’t know he needs some help and advice fast.
Poor Rain/Bi. He’s having a lot of struggles lately, but I believe he’ll overcome and still manage to stay on top!
He’s such a hard-working fella, he doesn’t deserve all this crap that’s happening. Stay STRONG RAIN!!!
I’d just like to clarify that JYP (the person) has also left JYPE (the agency) before Rain left JYPE…
the cancellation is not solely the decision of Rain the artist.. it is a decision made by StarM with the promoter so I can’t see the logic behind this article…
I have my opnion.i think rain will be consider for his
future plan. i think since he dismiss from JYP, he get
a lot of trouble like his name and now his tour is cancelled.i think if he has under JYP, Park Ji Young will
take-over all of case.don’t you think
Bi can use the name “The Korean Rain” for his music performances. Also, think about how there are different names for different people. The “Rain the Beatles Experience” is part of their name. “Bi” is Korean for “rain.” I’d suggest that fans of “The Korean Rain” write letters to the Judge who will be hearing this case. In an earlier post at Pop Seoul http://popseoul.com/2007/06/08/will-rain-change-his-name/, the address of the judge and the info about the case was given.
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-nvdce/case_no-3:2007cv00081/case_id-53012/
The Judge is Judge Larry R. Hicks at
Street Address:
301 Bruce R. Thompson
United States Courthouse and Federal Bldg
400 South Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89501-2193
Phone: 775-686-5800
If you write a letter to the judge, please be polite, respectful, and try to explain that the name “Rain” is the English equivalent to the Korean word “Bi” and it has nothing to do with an old group of performers who play someone else’s (Beatles) music. Also, make mention that the “Korean Rain” is known internationally in India, China, Japan, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, and other countries and he has his own music. You might also want to show that the “Korean Rain” looks nothing like members of the tribute band (since they are older, fatter, wear wigs, and don’t even resemble the “Korean Rain.”)
Sometimes letters and the voices of real people about legal matters can result in a fair court decision. Don’t give up—get active and help “The Korean Rain” save his name!
Ohio is rigth….
but remember.. be polite! – don’t bash or do anything stupid..
I agree with Brian & cjlatina.
Like it or not, Rain is just not a popular as everybody has made him out to be.
The Time’s Poll which is known to be “garbage” has got some people’s heads in the cloud.
His venues were going to be small to medium-sized and filled with nothing but Asians with a few others sprinkled into the crowd.
He should not have parted with JYP
Plain & simple.
He was basically Rain’s “hustle” man in the states anyway.
Like Cjlatina said: How do you think Times magazine knew about him?
And the list can go on.
JYP made Rain what little he is known for outside of Asia.
i still havnt gotten my san francisco refund yet =(
I love reading everyone’s thoughts on this whole Rain matter. I myself am a huge fan, happen to work in the music industry and also trying to track down some hard solid FACTS on this whole Rain fiasco however there seems to be none. The media and fans are in the same boat, that is, we are all basing conclusions on speculation or hearsay, no ones seems to know the exact reason for the postponements.
Personally, I have to say Rain leaving JYP was perhaps one of the worst career choices he can make. I am a great admirer of Rain the entertainer but as a business man, he still has a lot to learn, this is a prime example of his inexperience. I understand the idea of him leaving but it just wasn’t the right time, in the middle of his World Tour nonetheless. To top it all off, he needs to stop hiring his friends as promoters, advisors, mangers etc. This definitely contributed to the mess that is of his World Tour. Not only that, him accepting a role in a major Hollywood film (which I’m happy about) then announcing that he’ll continue his tour AFTER the filming, just screams to me like he’s more interested in acting.
What Rain needs to do:
1) have a press conference to clear the air about the lawsuit, tour postponement
2) reassure your FANS that they will get their Rain fix (you don’t want pissed off fans, esp. those who forked up a couple hundreds dollars for one of your canceled shows, like me)
3) Stick with ONE promoter (a promoter, that’s not your best friend, say Live Nation) for the rest of your US tour dates
My apologies for the long post. After all that, I still adore Rain.
There’s a petition going on right now: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/CloudsofRainBi/?e
In all honesty, my position is that unless a firm is selling a great product with a unique selling proposition, I don’t see why copyright should be granted to Rain Corp, even though they may have registered first.
In the first place, there are plenty of bands that have attempted to (dare I say) impersonate the legendary Beatles, and I don’t see why a little known one (until now, riding on Rain Jung Ji-hoon’s coat-tails) that files for copyrights first gets it when it wasn’t an ‘original act’, when it’s evident in their site’s name – http://www.rainthebeatlesexperience.com.
And seriously, this makes a mockery out of the copyright system, where anyone can simply go file a copyright for anything under the sun and sue the pants out of each other.
I dont think its all of StarM’s fault because well it is also the entertainer’s responsibility to make sure everything is going well.
Bi should just use “Rain’s Coming” as his world tour name lol maybe less confusion?
good luck to him and his investors.
ugh he cancelled the canadian tour as well. a lot of people still haven’t gotten their refunds for their tickets yet! i was going to his toronto concert and there was so much promotion for it, yet he cancelled it a month before. there were speculations that it was cancelled because of the Virginia Tech incident and that he was threatened etc., or because the venue had concrete floor so he could not open the show by coming up the floor, or because the government had strict laws about pyroworks and such so he could not do many of his special effects..
he really needs to come out and clear things up!!!
I agree w/ everyone’s post above. Esp. regaring Rain’s poor decision to leave JYP. Like, why the hell would you leave someone who made you who you are, who can make you even greater…in the middle of the world tour concerts? Plus, Rain can’t speak English and JYP can. So who’s going to make the better decisions in the States?
the legal issues with “rain group” could have gotten ugly had “korean rain” continued on with his concerts while pending legal decision. there are several factors involved in deciding this case. my business law stuff is a little fuzzy right now (and i don’t have all the facts of the case) but the gist of the issue is this: is there sufficient cause for market confusion regarding the brand name. there are several copyright categories in which you can register a “name”. it seems as tho the “rain group” has copyrighted the name “rain” under the music category. that means that any and all who use the name “rain” in relation to music can be sued. in other words, had “korean rain” decided to sell ketchup, there would be no case and therefore no issue… however, there is the other issue – market confusion. would the general public confuse the “rain group” beatle’s tribute band with “korean rain” and his “rain is coming” world tour concerts? i think it can be successfully argued that people won’t confuse the two acts… whoever acted as “korean rain’s” legal counsel should be fired. otoh, had “korean rain” gone ahead with the concerts and the legal decision was against him, then the “rain group” could sue for punitive and compensatory damages based on “lost wages”, most likely based on “korean rain’s” concert sales… from a legal standpoint, it was a wise decision to stand down until the legal matter is resolved.
I think Rain needs to have a press conference and set the record straight. To constantly cancel concerts is a poor idea and will not sit right with fans. ITs like when things arent going good lets cancel the show. Rain watch yourself, if you want to make it in the American market youd better prepare yourself a little bit better. Maybe stop trying to conquer the American market and concentrate on other markets. If he decides to concentrate on American markets, start off slow. Even Usher failed before he made it big.
Why are you upset and critisize Rain for something that he cannot help? He can’t perform if he’s still in legal battle. And JYP entertainment would not have been able to do anything about this because they are not the ones in charge of the world tour. The company that is in charge of his tour tried best to work things out with the Rain Incorp. But obviously, it hasn’t been successful. This has nothing to do with Rain’s decision. It’s out of his control!
I agree with OMG and garden and their concerts. The American judicial system is very complicated. If the Korean Rain would have attempted to hold the concert, that tribute band could have had a court order to stop the concert and get the money. How can anyone confuse the Korean Rain (singer, actor, beautiful smile and awesome abs) with a bunch of old farts singing someone else’s songs while they wear wigs?????
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200705/200705170015.html
We just posted an article with some clarity about the whole mess….feel free to link us.
http://www.pollstar.com/news/viewnews.pl?NewsID=8024
FIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it was raining real bad man i have a fat head
It’s not “hearsay” to say that his Hawaii concert didn’t sell as half as many tickets as they thought. And if you look around I’m sure you can find more than one article about.
Now I’m not saying this legal battle didn’t have a play in some other cancellations as well…but get real. If I walk down any street in America and asked any non-Asian teenagers who the hell Rain was very few would have a clue. He’s just not that well known. But hopefully the Speed Racer movie will help with his popularity.
The reason for postpone the concerts cannot be the verdict or the date of the lawsuit. They continue to promote the LA concert with the name “Rain´s Coming” and Rain World Tour. I wonder if the others concerts will be or if they will be canceled after LA concert.
wtf – change it to”bee” – for cryin out loud -there- prob. solved!!
RAIN CORPORATION, a Nevada corporation, Plaintiff, v. JYP ENTERTAINMENT, LTD. a Korean limited company, JI-HOON JEONG a/k/a RAIN, an individual, STAR M ENTERTAINMENT, a Korean company, Defendants.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEVADA
June 21, 2007, Decided
June 21, 2007, Filed
Factual Background
This is a trademark and unfair competition action arising from Jung’s use of the word “Rain” to identify himself. Plaintiff is a Nevada corporation in the business of producing and performing musical events featuring its Beatles tribute band called “Rain.” Plaintiff has used the mark “Rain” since 1975 to identify its musical band and services. Plaintiff registered the mark “Rain” for entertainment services with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 1988. Plaintiff has performed in approximately thirty states, most Canadian provinces, Jamaica and on international cruise ships.
Defendant Jung is a Korean singer, dancer, model, and actor. In Korea, throughout Asia, and among Asian-American fans in the United States, Jung is primarily known as “Rain.” Jung adopted the Korean name “Bi” (in Korean script), a Korean word that means “rain,” as his stage name. Since 2004, Jung has starred in several television shows broadcast throughout the world via satellite, cable, and availability on DVD. Jung began performing in the United States in February of 2004. In February, 2006, Jung held his first solo concert in the United States at Madison Square Garden. Jung has recently commenced a tour of the United States as part of his 2006-2007 world tour that began in Korea in October, 2006.
As a result of Jung’s use of the term “Rain,” Plaintiff filed this action. At this time, Plaintiff is seeking a preliminary injunction preventing Defendants from using the “Rain” mark, or any confusingly similar variation thereof, in conjunction with the sale, offer for sale, promotion, advertising, or provision of any goods or services in the United States.
Legal Standard
The Ninth Circuit uses two alternative tests to determine whether a preliminary injunction should issue. According to the “traditional test,” the equitable criteria for granting preliminary injunctive relief are: (1) a strong likelihood of success on the merits; (2) the possibility of irreparable injury to the plaintiffs if injunctive relief is not granted; (3) a balance of hardships favoring the plaintiffs; and (4) advancement of the public interest.. In the alternative, the Ninth Circuit uses a “sliding scale” or balancing test where injunctive relief is available to a party who demonstrates either: (1) a combination of probable success on the merits and the possibility of irreparable harm; or (2) that serious questions are raised and the balance of hardships tips in its favor.
Discussion
In its complaint, Plaintiff asserts causes of action for trademark infringement pursuant to 15 USC Section 1114(1)(a) unfair competition pursuant to 15 USC Section 1125, and common law unfair competition and trademark infringement. The test for trademark infringement and unfair competition claims is whether the alleged infringer’s use of a mark is likely to cause confusion. “The test for likelihood of confusion is whether a ‘reasonably prudent consumer’ in the market place is likely to be confused as to the origin of the good or service bearing one of the marks.” In determining whether there is a likelihood of confusion, the Ninth Circuit has looked to the following eight non-exclusive factors: strength of the mark, proximity of the goods, similarity of the marks, evidence of actual confusion, marketing channels used, types of goods and the degree of care likely to be exercised by the purchaser, defendant’s intent in selecting the mark, and likelihood of expansion of the product lines. However, this list of factors is not a “score-card” and the relative importance of each factor is case specific. The likelihood of confusion inquiry is inherently factual and usually requires a full record.
In the case at bar, the court has carefully considered the parties points and authorities along with the evidence presented and concludes that a preliminary injunction is not warranted. The court’s preliminary analysis of the Sleekcraft Factors indicates that some factors favor Plaintiff while others favor Defendants. Although Plaintiff has presented sufficient evidence to the court to demonstrate that this case raises serious questions, there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate a strong likelihood of success on the merits or that the balance of hardships tips in Plaintiff’s favor. The court reiterates, however, that the likelihood of confusion inquiry is a factual inquiry that generally requires a full record. Based on the record currently before the court, it appears that the question of whether Jung’s use of the term “rain” is likely to cause confusion is ultimately a question of fact that can only be determined by a jury.
With regard to the injury asserted by Plaintiff, Plaintiff argues that Defendants use of the word “rain” in the United States will destroy its hard work and investment because it will be forced to explain to the public and music venues that Plaintiff is not the Korean “Rain.” Other than speculation, Plaintiff has provided no evidence that its hard work and investment will be destroyed. Moreover, the prevailing party in a trademark infringement action is entitled, subject to the principles of equity, to recover (1) defendant’s profits, (2) any damages sustained by the plaintiff, and (3) the costs of the action. Hence, the harm Plaintiff seeks to avoid is compensable to the extent Plaintiff is successful in this litigation.
Similarly, the court finds that in assessing the need for a preliminary injunction, the balance of hardships favors Jung. If Plaintiff ultimately prevails in this action, the harm it will suffer should no injunction issue is its loss of control over the use of the mark “Rain.” Beyond this, Plaintiff has yet to provide evidence indicating that it will suffer any actual harm. Jung, on the other hand, is currently beginning the United States portion of his 2006-2007 World Tour. Should an injunction issue, Jung will likely incur substantial costs in communicating the name change effectively. See (Decl. of Sangbong Byun P 13.) Defendants have invested more than three million dollars in the United States portion of Jung’s world tour. Id. As part of this promotion, Defendants have prepared concert-related merchandise, such as t-shirts, hats and phone straps that would have to be withdrawn from the marketplace should an injunction issue. Id. Finally, it is certainly possible that an injunction would confuse Jung’s fans as to whether he is actually performing and cause those fans to return tickets or decline to attend Jung’s concerts.
In short, the limited evidence before the court fails to show that Plaintiff has a strong likelihood of success on the merits. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence of irreparable harm should an injunction not issue. Nonetheless, Plaintiff has raised serious questions with respect to trademark infringement that will likely need to be decided by a jury. Despite the questions that have been raised, an injunction is not appropriate because the evidence before the court at this stage indicates that the balance of hardships favors Defendants.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction is hereby DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED June 21, 2007.
LARRY R. HICKS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
haha. wtf. rain…. “bee” whatever.
he’s better than some stupid Beatles tribute band.
Hi, I also bought a $300 worth of one seat ticket for Rain’s Concert that was supposed to be held on June 9, 2007 and it was cancelled and now the company that sold me the ticket got “bankrupt” or something like that and won’t refund me my money unless i have my receipt with me and i threw that away when i bought the ticket… but i still have the ticket!!! They won’t refund me!!! Where can I complain?!?!?! I’m so frustrated right now… that ticket was EXPENSIVE!!!! I wish someone can help me!!
i dont understand why he couldnt just go by Bi, is that really such a bad since everyone mostly knows him as bi? its just rain in korean so that whole issue is just smoke screen and why would you need smoke screen unless you are hiding something…….i really dont know what is going on in rain’s head let’s face it we only see who he lets us see and who we want to see. we want him to be a good guy and just say that he was just being stupid and put it on inexperience but who’s to say that he wasnt part of some scheme to just take the money and run without performing..im not saying he did this but anything’s possible. im just glad my job wouldnt let me take the time off or i would be in the same boats as other fans who bought tickets. i just hope he gets back with jyp(person) so they can salvage his reputation because i truly believe he could be the great asian hope in america over seven (sorry seven fans seen him in concert does not live up to the hype). we need someone to shatter theses walls of asians are only good for being nerds and show that we are great dancers and singers and they we are just as hot (in my opinion hotter) as the blonde haired blue eyed anorexic hollywoodlites. rain can do that but he needs more time in korean, more training in english and the business world. look at utada hikaru. she has been in the business longer with a great reputation and no drama like this in her past, she is very intelligent and knows the business and yet she got shafted with her english debut where the only advertisement i saw was on mtv on this 30 second you hear it first crap and def jam released a horrible first single and didnt pimp her out to the mainstream rnb audiance which is manly black. that is what rain will need to succeed in american as he is an rnb hip hop artist. he will need to reach out to the black community, keep it real (by having some korean lyrics/songs on his album) because that is the main thing in the black community is honest. if you give us you we will accept you otherwise we will think you are fake. look at all the latin singers who have crossed over. dont they sing in spainish still? why must asians take english names and only sing in english? all asian singers who have done so have flopped in the us. take a que from the latin community: dont comform, infuse. bring the best of both languages/cultures and be the way you are and not the way you think america will find acceptable because all though i love hikaru that english album was a hot mess and does not compare to anything she has done before or after. i would love for her to just do an english album with some of her hits translated to english. maybe rain can do that with tears of the sun and bad guy and 11 days. those would be some hot songs in english though i know no one in the industry is smart enough to do that.
He should have stayed with JYP.
JYP made him famous