1. Receiving an annuity reminder for patents on your smartphone with the introduction of the Korean Intellectual Property Office's mobile electronic notification system

From October of this year, owners of patents (utility model, design, trademark) will be able to conveniently receive the ‘Annual (Renewal) Registration Guide’ through their smartphone, instead of mail. The annual (renewal) registration guide that informs the patent (registration) holder of the payment deadline and payment amount of the annual (renewal) registration fee in advance is being mailed to the address of the patent (registration) holder. However, if the change of address was not reported or if the reported address and actual residence were different, the patent holder often did not receive the guide. As a result, there were limitations such as missing the payment deadline and leading to damage in which the rights are extinguished. Once the system is established, the patent (registration) holder can receive the annual (renewal) registration guide through the Naver App or KakaoTalk without applying separately. In addition, for the convenience of patent (registration) holders, it is planned to link the system so that it is possible to pay the annual registration fee immediately after checking the guide through mobile.

2. The number of Korean companies that have been harmed by Chinese trademark theft has skyrocketed

In China, the number of Korean companies that have been preoccupied with trademarks without permission has surged 3.5 times in one year. Trademark theft damage is also spreading to Southeast Asia such as Vietnam and Thailand. In order to prevent the so-called “fake Hallyu” damage and to protect Korea’s intellectual property rights, there is a growing voice that special measures are now needed. Last year, there were 2753 Korean companies that had their trademark stolen in China, a 245% increase from 2019 (797). The number of affected companies has increased steadily since 2016 (301), but the increase was particularly large last year. There were also a total of 3457 cases of trademark theft in which companies suffered damage last year, a 133% increase from 2019 (1486 cases) and a 546% increase from 2016 (535 cases). Since 2016, a total of 5275 companies have been affected, and a total of 8121 cases of trademark theft have been reported.

The theft of Korean corporate trademarks in China is mainly carried out in franchises such as Paris Baguette, Nepa, Monochrome, Nature Republic, Pulmuone, and Hosik Dumarie Chicken, or in the clothing, food and cosmetics industries. It seems to have taken advantage of the familiarity of Korean consumer goods in China due to the boom in Korean dramas and movies.

3. The Korean Intellectual Property Office enforces the 'Unfair Competition Prevention' Amendment Act to eradicate technology theft

If the host organization uses the ideas proposed by small and medium-sized enterprises or individuals without permission, compensation shall be made up to three times the amount of damage. A governmental plan will also be prepared to prevent technology leakage of Korean companies. The Korean Intellectual Property Office will be enacting the 'Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act (hereinafter referred to as the Unfair Competition Prevention Act)' from April 21.

In the case of damage to the idea provider by using the ideas provided in the process of technology transaction without permission, the amount of compensation is increased up to three times the amount of damage. The purpose of this revision is to eradicate so-called technology stealing practices that use novel ideas without fair compensation. A legal basis has been established to publish the personal information of the violator, the fact of violation, and the contents of the recommendation for correction in the Official Gazette, etc., if the recommendation for corrective action against unfair competition is not followed. There were no special sanctions, and it was pointed out that the effect was insufficient.

4. Patent applications in Korea increased by 3.6% compared to last year despite COVID-19.

According to the patent application statistics for major patents IP5 (USA, China, Japan, Europe, and Korea), the number of patent applications in Korea increased while the number of patent applications in major countries decreased last year when Corona 19 hit the world. A total of 226,759 applications were received in Korea, an increase of 3.6% from the previous year. In contrast to the decrease in applications from the US (3.9%↓), Europe (0.6%↓), and Japan (6.3%↓). It is analyzed that this is because Korean companies have sought a new leap in the digital economy era by preoccupying technology despite difficult conditions due to COVID-19. However, in the case of China, although patent applications increased by 6.9%, this is interpreted as a base effect due to a sharp decrease in the number of applications filed in the previous year. By nationality, a total of 25,142 Korean applications to IP5 were filed, an increase of 4.8% from the previous year. Patent applications for all IP5 countries including Korea showed an even increase.