1. The number of applications for Korean intellectual properties for 2014 increased by 0.9% compared to the previous year

The number of applications for Korean intellectual properties was recorded to be 434,047 last year. By right, the patents (129,786) and designs (54,010) increased 1.9% and 14.2%, respectively, compared to the previous year, while utility models (4,955) and trademarks (99,791) decreased 16.8% and 0.3%, respectively. In the number of applicants by right, big business and foreign corporations held the major share with 21.9% and 21.5%, respectively.

In the number of patent applications by detailed classification of arts, energy was 16,247, computer technology 13,310, transport 11,725 and semiconductors 1,027.

2. China’s applications for trademarks filed in Korea are increasing

The number of China’s applications for trademarks filed in Korea for the recent five years has increased from 672 in 2010 to 794 in 2014 in the case of Madrid applications, and in the case of direct applications in Korea it increased by more than three times from 574 in 2010 to 1828 in 2014. A reason for such increases has been determined to be a result of the fact that the volume of trade between Korea and China is increasing due to substantial progress in the FTA negotiations between the two governments.

In the number of trademark applications by foreign countries in Korea for the past five years, America had 31,823 accounting for 27.3% of the total number of applications by foreign countries, followed by Japan (17.2%), China (9.3%), Germany (7.6%) and France (5.5%).

3. Montessori is a trademark usable by everybody

The Supreme Court Section 3 (Chief judge: Justice Min Il-young) ruled in the lawsuit for an injunction against a trademark right infringement filed by Montessori Korea against the Montessori, etc. such that Montessori can be used by everybody because it is indistinctive as a trademark.

In the first and second trials, the judge ruled against the plaintiff saying “Montessori” is a term widely used by general consumers as well as educational institutions, and the Supreme Court confirmed the original judgment that ruled against the plaintiff, saying “there was no error in the original trial such as misunderstanding of legal principles about trademark rights.”

The Court said “A trademark composed of the word Montessori only without a design specifically made for it cannot be deemed to be distinctive as an indication of the origin of the commodity and allowing it to be used exclusively by anyone is not appropriate.”

4. America and Japan agreed to joint examination of patents

In August, the patent offices of America and Japan will start joint examination of a part of patent applications that are filed by businesses. The America-Japan joint examination of patents is a major step forward from the PPH, whereby the patent office of each country can utilize the examination results after signing a mutual agreement. Thus, it is expected that patent examinations will be much more efficient and will take less time than before. The Japanese patent office said that this is the first time for Japan to perform joint examinations with a foreign country and expects the time required for a business to obtain a patent will be significantly shortened. For Japanese businesses, which file more than 50% of their annual overseas patent applications in America, the sale of new products would be so much easier that the competitiveness of Japanese businesses is also expected to increase.