Demon Hunter, a band that formed in 2000, has filed a lawsuit against Netflix and other entities associated with the production of KPop Demon Hunters. It seems they’re worried their fans (or perhaps K-pop fans) might confuse the Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning animated phenomenon with their brand of Chistian metal. They want a judge to tell Netflix to stop using the phrase KPop Demon Hunters in music releases, on DVDs, bumper stickers, wall calendars, “underclothes,” and live events, among other items.
“Simply put, Netflix is no more entitled to use the mark KPOP DEMON HUNTERS than it would be to launch a recording artist, live touring show, and merchandise under the marks KPOP METALLICA, KPOP U2 or KPOP BLACK SABBATH,” the suit claims.
The suit seeks to have the judge rule to prevent the use of the aforementioned by “directing the U.S. Marshal to seize and impound” anything with those words on it. It also seeks damages and attorneys’ fees. “KPOP DEMON HUNTERS subsumes the entire DEMON HUNTER mark,” the suit claims.
A rep for Demon Hunter declined to comment on the lawsuit. Reps for Netflix did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
Though it may seem unlikely people would confuse the omnipresent “Golden” with any of Demon Hunter’s bountiful Number One-charting Christian rock hits (“The Last One Alive,” “Driving Nails”), the lawsuit details numerous instances where they claim a consumer could be disappointed by stumbling on the wrong thing.
At stake is Demon Hunter’s registered trademark for their band name, which the group’s company, Hyde Lane, has owned in various forms since 2001. The Patent and Trademark Office canceled the mark in February 2025 “due to an inadvertent failure to timely file the requisite Section 8 and 9 Declaration,” but the suit claims they refiled for it in December.
In June 2025, Netflix placed KPop Demon Hunters on its streaming platform. “KPop is short for Korean Popular Music, a popular genre of music that originated in South Korea and has grown into a global phenomenon,” the lawsuit states. “The term ‘KPop’ is therefore a generic word for a particular genre of music.” Since the film is a musical, Demon Hunter suggest music consumers could be confused, but they also acknowledge Netflix’s claim that the film has been streamed more than 325.1 million times and that its songs have been streamed more than 10 billion times.
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This past May, Netflix and concert promoter AEG started planning KPop Demon Hunters live events, which Demon Hunter, the band, object to in the suit, claiming Netflix seeks to “usurp” their mark by filing its own KPop Demon Hunters mark. “With the announcement of live concerts and the application for a trademark registration for live entertainment services, Defendants use of KPOP DEMON HUNTERS has moved to an almost complete overlap with Hyde Lane’s Marks,” the filing says. They claim that they’re the “senior user” of Demon Hunter marks for more than two decades.
They also allege that the band has suffered from “reverse confusion.” Essentially, they believe KPop Demon Hunters fans are buying Demon Hunter albums and are disappointed to hear their band instead of K-pop. Plus, they’re worried that people would think that Netflix’s millions of dollars in marketing have saturated the market to the point that fans might think that they’re biting off the K-pop brand.
To support their claims of confusion, the suit includes references to emails from parents who bought tickets to Demon Hunter concerts for their five- and six-year-old children thinking it would be KPop, but now want their money back. “I was way to [sic] excited and didn’t pay attention,” the parent quoted in the lawsuit said. “I spent almost $500 on the tickets because I wanted my girls to have a great view their very first concert and I really messed up.”
In another instance cited in the suit, Inside Edition requested an interview with singer Yu-Han Lee from Demon Hunter’s manager. “Yu-Han Lee is not associated with Demon Hunter or Hyde Lane, but he is the songwriter for KPop Demon Hunters that won an Oscar on March 15, 2026, in connection with KPop Demon Hunters,” the suit claims. They’re also upset that K-pop fans would use the #demonhunter hashtag.
Perhaps most damning for Netflix, though, is that when you search “Demon Hunter” on Ticketmaster, KPop Demon Hunters’ events show up. Google searches yield similar results. “Due to [Netflix’s] wrongful actions, Demon Hunter’s established identity is becoming increasingly obscured within recorded music, live touring and merchandise-related channels due to overlapping use by the KPOP DEMON HUNTERS brand,” the suit claims.
Demon Hunter released their newest album, There Was a Light Here, last September.
From Rolling Stone US
