Christian Metal Band Demon Hunter Takes Legal Action Against Netflix Over ‘KPop Demon Hunters’

In the lawsuit, Demon Hunter’s central arguments are trademark infringement and “substantial confusion,” which they warn will worsen when KPop Demon Hunters embarks on a worldwide tour, visiting more than 150 cities, which is expected to kick off sometime in 2027. According to Netflix, tour dates and stops have yet to be announced. 

“In just a year’s time, Defendants have taken step after step to move into almost complete overlap with the goods and services offered by Hyde Lane under the Demon Hunter mark. As a result of their adoption and exploitation of the ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ brand, which is confusingly similar to senior user Hyde Lane’s established Demon Hunter mark, junior users Netflix, Netflix Studios, and AEG have created a substantial likelihood of confusion (and, indeed, actual confusion has already resulted), leading consumers to believe the parties’ goods or services are affiliated, sponsored, or otherwise connected with one another.”

The band also owns the “Demon Hunter” trademark for merchandise and recorded music and is awaiting registration approval for live music.

The lawsuit also stated how one fan purchased more than $500 in tickets for himself and his young children to see a KPop Demon Hunters concert. Instead, the man found himself at a Demon Hunters show. 

Additionally, the metal band, in their suit, states that the streaming giant has made it a habit to “jealously guard and enforce their own intellectual property rights”…. while “willfully disregarding the rights of others in pursuit of profits.”

“The brand that Hyde Lane has carefully built over the course of the past quarter century now faces an existential crisis, thereby necessitating the filing of this action and the granting of the requested relief from this Court," the lawsuit contends. 

Demon Hunter, in its lawsuit, hopes to bring the case to a jury trial. 

But until that point, the band had already requested that the courts take action. They want the courts to issue an injunction to stop Netflix from using the "KPop Demon Hunters" name for new albums, concerts and other materials, such as merchandise. As far as money is concerned, no specific figure has been named, but the suit points out that financial losses are “not yet ascertainable.”

Meanwhile, Netflix shot back against the band, stating that the “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,” the streaming platform said in a statement shared with The Los Angeles Times.

“KPop Demon Hunters,” an animated musical, premiered on Netflix in 2025 and has become the streaming platform’s most-watched film and is centered on Huntrix, a music trio who hunt demons. The film’s main track, “Golden,” won an Oscar earlier this year, making it the first K-pop song to win the prestigious award.

According to Forbes, the popular and Academy Award-winning animated film has been watched more than 325 million times. 

Demon Hunter, founded by lead singer Ryan Clark and his brother, Don Clark, released 12 albums and have more than 355k monthly streams on Spotify. Some of their best-known songs include  “I Will Fail You,” “I Am Stone,” “Dead Flowers,” “Collapsing” and “The Last One Alive.”

Photo Credit: ©David Balev/Unsplash

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.