ADOR Wins Case Against Studio Behind NewJeans' ETA Music Video; Dolphiners Films To Pay 1 Billion KRW

ADOR

emerged victorious in a case against Dolphiners Films, the production studio behind the visuals of several NewJeans projects. On January 13, in a court verdict, the HYBE subsidiary label that manages the disputed girl group NewJeans won its long-running copyright dispute with the studio. The dispute dates back to August 2024 and centers on the music video for the band's hit single ETA. After the recent removal of Danielle March, NewJeans currently comprises Minji, Hanni, Haerin, and Hyein. Dolphiners Films is the creative studio credited with shaping the visual identity of NewJeans through its music videos.

ADOR wins lawsuit agtainst Dolphiners Films

On Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of ADOR. It ordered Dolphiners Films to pay approximately 1 billion KWR (about $679,000) in damages for the unauthorized release of a director's cut of the NewJeans music video for ETA. The ruling also applied 12% annual interest on the amount from December 14, 2024, until paid in full. The court, however, dismissed ADOR's separate claims against the individual director, Shin Woo-Seok. This leaves ADOR to cover its own legal costs in that part of the case while Dolphiners bears most corporate costs.

About the ADOR vs Dolphiners Films case

Dolphiners Films had uploaded a 'Director’s Cut' of ETA on its own YouTube channel. ADOR was quick to call out the 'unauthorised' upload, stating that the video was released without prior approval. This led to Shin removing all NewJeans-related content from his unofficial channels and filed a criminal defamation complaint against ADOR. According to Korean media, Shin stated in August 2024, "With the management change at ADOR, it seems the policies have changed. Due to ADOR’s request for deletion, all NewJeans music videos and related videos and channels that Dolphiners Film had worked on and uploaded, as well as videos planned for future upload, can no longer be made public."

ADOR's reaction to the case

In response, ADOR replied, "The ‘ETA’ music video director’s cut posted on Dolphiners Film’s own SNS channel included edits that had previously been contentious even with advertisers, and was posted without advertiser approval. Furthermore, according to the contract between ADOR and Dolphiners Film, the copyrights of NewJeans’ music videos and all related works belong to ADOR. Therefore, the ‘ETA’ music video and its edited versions (including the director’s cut) should be posted only on our official channels.” ADOR also stated, “This is to protect the rights of the artists."In response, ADOR filed a civil lawsuit, accusing the studio of breach of contract and copyright infringement.The latest court verdict gives a legal affirmation to ADOR with regard to its rights over NewJeans' content. It also reinforces the label's strict intellectual property control within K-pop, further clarifying boundaries around content ownership and unauthorised use by creative partners.

ADOR removes Danielle from NewJeans

The latest development comes days after ADOR ousted Danielle from NewJeans with regard to its broader legal battle. On December 29, 2025, the company announced the exclusive contract with Danielle, thus removing her from the five-member NewJeans. This left the 20-year-old facing a lawsuit and a penalty.