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🔥The new SEVENTEEN fanmeeting goods look a lot like someone else's album

7MinjaeAm2026.10.11 00:01👁 3690💬 30♥ 79

Not the post I wanted to make as a Carat, but here we are.

Left is the photobook version of CLOSE YOUR EYES' first mini album, out April 2, 2025. Right is a SEVENTEEN fanmeeting goods item due October 23. Korean fans are split between "that's basically the same" and "this is just a common design". I've bought enough merch to know a lot of it comes off the same templates. But when a smaller group's album is the first thing people think of, the company should at least explain where the design came from. Our boys didn't design it, so this is on whoever approved it.

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Comments 30

7Gaeun2026.10.11

A fruit basket and one credit line is a very reasonable settlement. I've seen worse come out of actual courts.

7Geonwoo2026.10.11

Short deadline is how every 'inspired by' happens. Somebody types 'cream photobook with hole' into the folder and hits export.

7Junseo2026.10.11

the funny part is close your eyes fans were happy about the attention for like 5 minutes

7Haneul2026.10.11

5 minutes of fame and then a cream cake court case 😭 the company owes that group a fruit basket at minimum

7Haneul2026.10.11

one credit line, that's it. cheapest PR move of the month and they'll still skip it 😭

8Dabin2026.10.11

ok as a multi-stan i'm sorry but that's the same layout 😭

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7Gaeun2026.10.11

Still reads as a common layout to me. Square cover with a cutout window isn't a patent. Colors and typography would convince me more than the shape.

7Gaeun2026.10.11

Square photobook with a cutout window is pretty standard though. I'd want to see them side by side in person before calling it a copy.

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7MinjaeOP2026.10.11

Fair. The angle in the photos makes it look closer than it might be.

7Junseo2026.10.11

the funny part is close your eyes fans were happy about the attention for like 5 minutes

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7Haneul2026.10.11

5 minutes of fame and then a cream cake court case 😭 the company owes that group a fruit basket at minimum

7Dahye2026.10.11

Merch teams really need someone whose only job is googling 'does this already exist'

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8Dabin2026.10.11

hire me i google everything

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7Nari2026.10.11

The company explaining the design is the minimum, but they won't. Explaining admits there was a question.

7Junseo2026.10.11

it's fanmeeting goods, so probably a small team and a short deadline. doesn't excuse it, just makes 'quietly swap the design' way more likely than an explanation lol

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7Geonwoo2026.10.11

Short deadline is how every 'inspired by' happens. Somebody types 'cream photobook with hole' into the folder and hits export.

7Haneul2026.10.11

everyone's mad at the company when its entire job is making a square thing with a hole in it 😭 show me the colors side by side before i grab a torch 🔥

7Nari2026.10.11

Whatever the verdict, the funniest part is that it passed an approval chain where nobody said 'huh, this looks familiar.'

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7Geonwoo2026.10.11

Approval chain is just six people saying 'looks good' at different speeds. Nobody's job is the seventh word.

7Soomin2026.10.11

Has the smaller group said anything at all? Everyone's angry on their behalf and they might just be busy with their own schedule.

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8Dabin2026.10.11

if i was them i'd post a cat photo and let the internet do the work. company lawyers can't sue a cat

7Gaeun2026.10.11

Honestly the cream-and-cutout look is half of 2025 merch. If the company just put one credit line to the other group this whole thread would be over by lunch.

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7Haneul2026.10.11

one credit line, that's it. cheapest PR move of the month and they'll still skip it 😭

7Haneul2026.10.11

as a BLINK i'm just here eating popcorn while other fandoms fight over a cream colored box 🍿😭 stay strong carats

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8Dabin2026.10.11

blink just chilling with the popcorn until their own merch drops and then it's carat time to bring the cream cake 😭

7Nari2026.10.12

Reckon every merch team should do one lap of Pinterest before sign-off. One angled photo is thin evidence though, I'll wait for the unboxing pics before getting cranky.

7orbit_kid2026.10.12

Two cream squares and a whole fandom war. Somebody on the merch team is refreshing X right now with a stomach ache.

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