1. Eligibility for preferential examination of trademark application will be expanded as of September

The KIPO made a pre-announcement of legislation for overall amendment (draft) to trademark law enforcement ordinance and enforcement regulations for the purposes of relaxing regulations and enhancing applicant convenience by drastically expanding the eligibility for preferential examination of a trademark application and reducing the number of certified documents to be submitted for a geographical indication group emblem application. As there has been a large demand by applicants for additional eligibility for preferential examination, this was positively reflected in the amendment for large expansion of eligibility for preferential examination of a trademark application. First, preferential examination is made possible for the relevant prior application for which notification of a reason for rejection was received due to prior application of a trademark by another person so as to be helpful for speedy resolution of disputes.

Also, in the case of international application of a domestic trademark application based on the Protocol of the Madrid Agreement, application for preferential examination was made possible for the domestic trademark application. In the draft, changed and delegated matters of all the revised laws regarding trademarks were reflected, and they will be enforced as of September 1 with the enforcement of the draft law.

2. KIPO’s Special Judicial Police clamps down on fakes of Luis Vuitton, Prada, etc.

The KIPO’s trademark right special judicial police (hereinafter, an SJP) arrested a gang who pirated famous brands of luxury goods such as Luis Vuitton, Prada, Rolex, Gucci, Chanel, etc. to make and market them on a large scale. The quantity of goods exposed is the largest so far in this country, amounting to 320 billion won (at current market value) with more than 30 trademarks and 15 items of bags, purses, clocks, sunglasses, clothes and the like. According to the SJP, more than 20 persons including Mr. A (45) set up an office in a residential area in Ssangchon-dong, Gwangju City with a division of roles into management and sales under Mr. A, and they have been distributing and selling more than 150,000 items of counterfeit goods made in China through more than 20 wholesalers and retailers all over the country since April 2014 until January this year. It was found from investigation that the gang operated a supply store near the office and sent packages of goods by parcel delivery service through interim dealers, and the wholesalers and retailers who had counterfeit goods supplied circulated the goods by way of internet cafes and Kakao Story. It was also found that some distributors operated off-line stores to sell the goods directly to consumers.

3. Fair Trade Commission will set up a new permanent ‘division for intellectual property examination’ by expanding the team dedicated to ICT

The Fair Trade Commission will set up a new ‘division for intellectual property examination,’ which is an extension of the team, a task force organization, ‘dedicated to information and communication technology (ICT).’ The purpose is to respond to unfair acts in the field of ICT, which is becoming more complicated and diversified. With the establishment of a new division for intellectual property examination, it is expected that there will be an effect of preventing damage to Korean businesses caused by the abuse of privilege by NPEs or global ICT enterprises. This is the first time for the Fair Trade Commission to set up a permanent organization for monitoring unfair acts in the ICT field. It is a reflection of the phenomenon that unfair acts have increased with the growth of the ICT industry. It is a viewpoint of the Fair Trade Commission that professionalism is necessary for monitoring and sanctions as there are a lot of cases involving global enterprises because unfair acts in the ICT field are so complicated and multifarious. The Fair Trade Commission explained, “ICT is an area of specialized expertise, so we cannot properly respond unless we utilize organized professionals,” saying “Coping with an incident through the current relevant division makes it difficult to secure professionalism and also takes a long time to deal with it.”

4. Korea beats Germany to rank fifth in the world in ‘Standard Patents’

The KIPO announced that Korea has ascended to the fifth position in the national ranking by owning 782 standard patents as of last year according to the results of analyzing the data of the world’s top three standardization organizations. The country that owns the most standard patents is America with 3101 patents, followed by Finland (2539), Japan (2146) and France (1265). Korea beat Germany, a country traditionally strong in technology, to ascend to the fifth position last year.

A standard patent means an internal-made standard agreed upon to be used in common in the fields of IT, chemical industry, medicine, etc. such as the size of a battery or specifications of an electric socket.

The standard patent is a device prepared to ensure compatibility of equipment made by separate businesses. For example, if a cell phone is made in conformity with the standard patent, it can be used anywhere in the world, and a business or organization which owns the standard patent can receive patent fees from all businesses using the relevant technology.

America and Europe are focused on technology such as communication methods, and Korea is concentrated on value-added technology such as parts.