What’s in a name? Plenty if you’re a Seattle band whose name is similar to K-pop Demon Hunters.
Hyde Lane, the parent company of the band “Demon Hunter,” is suing Netflix over the K-pop movie and its planned concert tour.
The lawsuit claims Netflix is harming the band’s brand, so it’s suing for trademark infringement.
“Trademark infringement comes down to if you think of brands, the chance that a consumer is going to be confused,” said Seattle University School law professor Steve Tapia.
It’s hard to imagine two different styles. Demon Hunter is a Christian metal band founded in Seattle in 2000. The K-pop Demon Hunters film premiered on Netflix in June of 2025, and features versions of pop music.
But the lawsuit has caused confusion.
According to the lawsuit, “Hyde Lane received an email requesting a ticket refund based on that person purchasing tickets to a Demon Hunter concert after being confused and thinking that they were purchasing tickets to a K-pop Demon Hunter concert.”
In another incident, the lawsuit states, “a producer from the television show Inside Edition emailed Ryan J. Downey, the manager of Demon Hunter, to request an interview with “songwriter Yu-Han Lee” to “speak with him about winning the prestigious [Oscar] award.” But Yu-Han Lee wrote the Oscar-winning song for K-pop Demon Hunters, not Demon Hunter.
“Demon Hunter’s a very niche, small band and Pop Demon Hunters is like one of the biggest pop culture phenomena in the last couple years,” noted Matt Welles, a manager at Sonic Boom Records in Ballard.
Tapia says the goal of the lawsuit is likely to straighten out that confusion and clarify the brand. He says the solution may be as simple as a “disclaimer” by the K-Pop group that it has nothing to do with the Christian heavy metal band.
“So, for example, there are lots of people that do Windows. For houses and such like that. And in a couple of cases where it’s been relatively close, they’ve been forced to disclaim that they have no association with Microsoft,” Tapia said.
In a statement to KIRO 7, Netflix said: “These allegations are without merit. Netflix has created an Academy Award-winning global phenomenon with KPop Demon Hunters that has inspired fans around the world with its powerful music, storytelling, and characters. We look forward to vigorously defending this matter.”
Barring a settlement, the case is headed to trial. “And you know if it works it works. But if it doesn’t- way more people will know about Demon Hunter than they did a week ago,” Welles said.
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