On January 3, 2018, Hyomin announced that she, Jiyeon, Eunjung, and Qri would not renew their contracts with MBK Entertainment. The record label later confirmed that the group had left the company. MBK later confirmed that they had filed for a trademark on the name "T-ara". In January 2018, Hyomin, Jiyeon, Eunjung, and Qri filed for a rejection of MBK's trademark request. In August 2018, MBK's trademark request was denied. This allows Hyomin, Jiyeon, Eunjung, and Qri to continue using the group name. They later stated that they intend to stay together as a group.