1. Procedures for correction of specifications, etc. are prepared when filing an international patent application.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced that it would revise and enforce the Patent Law Enforcement Rule from the 1st of next month so that a part of the specifications and drawings of the international patent application can be corrected by reflecting the amendment of the “Patent Cooperation Treaty Rules”. In the past, when an application for an international patent was incorrectly submitted for specifications or drawings, there was no procedure to correct the error, and there was a hassle to reapply. However, in accordance with the agreement of countries around the world, the rules of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which stipulate detailed procedures for international applications, have been revised and corrected. Accordingly, the Korean Intellectual Property Office has improved the system for applicants who wish to file international applications in Korea. In the case of correcting the missing or incorrectly submitted part after the preparation of the international search report for the international application, when the additional fee is paid, it has been changed to allow international searches on newly revised specifications.

2. Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Korean Intellectual Property Office, Regional Industrial Complex, support for strengthening intellectual property capacity.

According to the government, targeting 27 Regional Intellectual Property Centers (RIPCs) operated by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and 88 minicluster members across 11 regional headquarters nationwide (1,579) of Korea Industrial Complex Corporation under the Ministry of Industry △Securing intellectual property rights at home and abroad △Learning of intellectual property and consulting on difficulties △Providing on-site intellectual property services such as patent-based commercialization technology development (R&BD) planning support will be implemented. The Regional Intellectual Property Center dispatches affiliated experts to industrial complexes and enterprises to provide intellectual property education and seminars and consulting on corporate intellectual property issues. For companies that are urgent to secure patent rights at home and abroad, the Regional Intellectual Property Center assists with prior technology investigations and recommendation of excellent patent attorneys. In addition, it plans to follow-up support for patent and design creation strategies, design and brand development, and corporate intellectual property management diagnosis and construction in connection with the enterprise support program of KIPO.

3. The Korea Intellectual Property Office released two types of intellectual property cost and management fund loans for companies that have joined the patent deduction.

From the 27th, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (President Park Won-ju) made up of intellectual property cost loans and management fund loans for subsidiaries participating through the Technology Guarantee Fund. The 1,302 companies who have signed up for the deduction last year and accumulated more than 12 payments (once a month) are eligible for loan application. Companies that apply for intellectual property cost loans can pay for expenses related to intellectual property rights, such as foreign patents and trademark applications, and domestic and foreign patents, at an interest rate of 1.75% up to five times the installment reserve and then repay them in installments. Management fund loans are products that are loaned at an interest rate of 3.25%, up to 90% of the installment reserve when an emergency fund is required for management. Both the intellectual property cost loan and the management fund loan do not have a mid-payment fee.

4. H.O.T. Trademark is back to a legitimate right holder... Court decides to invalidate trademark registration

A concert planner Salt Innovation of the group H.O.T won the trademark dispute with former SM Entertainment representative. The second part of the Patent Court (Kyung-Lan Kim, chief judge) cited the plaintiff's claim in a trademark registration invalidation lawsuit filed by H.O.T concert agency Salt Innovation against former CEO of SM Entertainment. The judiciary said, "Considering that the pre-trademark was already prominent, the defendant should be regarded as filing this trademark for the purpose of imitating the pre-trademark and gaining unfair advantage." Salt Innovation filed a request for invalidation of registration, saying to the Patent Judge against the former representative, “The H.O.T trademark, which was registered in 2010, is the same or similar to the trademark used first, and may be misunderstood.” “The users of the pre-traded trademarks are not considered to be invalid because they have to be seen as former representatives.” However, the patent court decided that the trial was wrong. The H.O.T trademark belongs to SM Entertainment, not Kim. The court said that the defendant had obtained consent to use the trademark from HOT singers, but the consent was related to trademark filed by the defendant from 1996 to 1997. The judiciary said, “There was only a stamp of singers who were a minor at the time and the singers did not transfer the trademark rights to the defendant in view of the fact that the singers made an exclusive contract with SM”