1. Meeting of Korea-Russia Patent Office Chiefs Reinforces Cooperation for Intellectual Property Rights

Patent office chiefs of Korea and Russia had a meeting to sign an MOU for “comprehensive cooperation for intellectual property rights”. Accordingly, the patent offices of the two countries agreed to reinforce mutual cooperation in the fields of patent prosecution highway (PPH), exchange of patent information, provision of traditional knowledge database and education of intellectual property rights. The examination efficiency of the two countries is expected to increase through the increase of applications for industrial property rights and the exchange of industrial property right data between the two countries. In addition, Korean traditional knowledge database including 310,000 items will be provided to be positively utilized in examination by the examiners of the Russian patent office, so that the base for Korean traditional knowledge to be protected internationally is expected to expand.

2. David Beats Goliath at Trademark Right Dispute

Ogada, a Korean herb tea company, won at a trademark right dispute with Amore Pacific, a large domestic enterprise, in the middle ten days of last month. Ogada, which launched a herb tea business in 2009, aimed to advance into the health food business, but knew that Amore applied for registration of a similar trademark in March of last year and raised a formal objection in the patent tribunal, which ruled in favor of Ogada. Meanwhile, the number of trademark dispute cases is increasing: it was no more than 269 in 2010, but it was up to 405 in 2012, showing an increase of more than 50% in two years.

3. It will be easy for small and medium businesses having excellent patents to receive investment

The KIPO announced that from March it would implement a “creative business IP finance-linked support project”, whereby it will receive applications from small and medium business having intellectual property rights to diagnose the level of patents at no charge and issue a technology assessment report. The relevant businesses are small and medium businesses which own registered patent rights or utility model rights and hope to be recommended to financial and investment institutions for financing. Technology assessment for an intellectual property right owned by the small-and-medium business that filed an application will be conducted by an assessment team composed of the Korea Invention Promotion Association and experts such as patent attorneys, and the examination opinion on the present condition of the business and the technology and right will be classified into one of three levels of excellent, good and fair in the technology assessment report.

4. A maximum of 2 billion won can be loaned with a patent as collateral

The Small and Medium Business Administration and Small & Medium Business Corporation announced on the 3rd that a maximum of 2 billion won could be loaned with a patent right owned by a small-and-medium business as collateral. If a company (corporation or individual business) wishing a loan with patent as collateral files an application for a development technology commercialization fund, the Small & Medium Business Corporation verifies a technology feasibility report for the relevant patent to decide on the collateral value and loan. 50% or less of the calculated assessment value is acknowledged as the collateral value, and the funds are to be given to the applying company through a direct loan. The interest rate is 3.14% based on the first quarter of 2014, and the financing is carried out by establishing a pledge right on the patent right, not by transfer of patent ownership.