1. "Korean brands are now easily searchable worldwide"

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced on December 22, 2015 that WIPO’s ‘Global Brand Database’ starts Korean trademark search service at the end of the month. Global Brand Database is available online at 'www.wipo.int/branddb'. The KIPO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) cooperation with WIPO in November last year to facilitate sharing of Intellectual Property (IP) information, and accordingly added 3 million Korean trademark records to Global Brand Database. Global Brand Database provides 24.49 million trademarks from 26 countries including Korea, the United States, Germany and Japan free of charge.

2. Large corporations are illegally obtaining technologies from small and medium businesses

It is common for large corporations to break off business relations with the small and medium-sized enterprises after having been provided with technical materials by them, and then slightly alter and use their technologies as if they were developed by themselves. Although it is illegal to ask the contractor for technical materials under the subcontracting law, it is hard to prove because most large corporations illegally obtain technologies before entering into a contract. Further, there is no such provision defining technical infringement in Trade Secrets Protection ACT and others, and the officials in charge have no authority to investigate. In particular, most lawsuit cases filed by small and medium enterprises tend to be dropped or lost because there are usually no specialized personnel in the investigation agency or the court.

3. KIPO launches `Misrepresentation Report Center`

The KIPO launches ‘IP Misrepresentation Report Center’ on December 18, 2015 and distributes ‘Intellectual Property Representation Guidelines’ to eradicate deceptive trade practices. It is because of the recent frequent and recurring IP misrepresentation at online shopping malls or advertising in newspapers, magazines, flyers, signboards, and so on.