1. New systems to be introduced in patent and trademark areas as Korea-U. S. FTA takes effect

 

A patent right duration extension system for the delay in registration is to be introduced in the patent and utility model areas, so if patent registration is delayed because the examination processing is delayed, the patent right duration will be extended as much as the delayed period. When the applicant has opened his invention to the public by presenting it in an academic journal, etc., hitherto he had to file the application for patent within 6 months after the opening, but from now on he may have it patented as long as he files the application within 12 months.

 

And the system that the patent right is canceled merely for the reason that a patented invention was not implemented within this country for at least five years is to be abolished.

 

In the area of trademark right, even a thing that cannot be seen with the naked eye such as sound and smell may be registered as a trademark. Examples include Intel’s sound effect and printer toner lemon aroma.

 

 

2. Support project for research note that can be used as objective evidence in patent dispute

 

The KIPO announced on the 5^th that it will implement a ‘Research Note Comprehensive Support Project’ so that a proper research note system takes root and the capabilities of research note making, management and utilization can be improved at an early stage. The KIPO will also provide support for a system building design for electronic research notes and preparation time point certification software for building up the power of evidence of electronic research notes.

 

Research notes are data recording the whole process and results from the beginning of the research which can be used to define intellectual property. In advanced countries like America it is utilized as one of the important evidentiary data for objectively proving the date of invention, etc. in sharp cases such as patent disputes.

 

 

3. A patent prosecution highway opened between Korea and China

 

The KIPO announced on the first of this month that a patent prosecution highway (PPH) system, whereby if the same invention is filed in Korea and China and it was patented in Korea, the patent can be examined quickly in China using the Korean patent, went into trial operation between Korea and China. Currently it is known that the patent examination and processing period in Chinese Patent Office takes about 24 months. The applicant who received a decision to be patented by the KIPO, which is relatively faster, can shorten the period for obtaining the patent. It takes 16 months on average for the KIPO to give the initial examination notice.

 

With the agreement with China, the number of countries which have implemented a patent prosecution highway system with this country has increased to 10 including America, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Russia, Spain, Canada and Finland.

 

 

4. Differences in international patent processes to be standardized

 

The five countries, Korea, America, China, Japan and the European Union, which hold 76% of the world patents are going to standardize the patent system. This follows the indication that business activity is greatly impeded by the fact that patent registration standards and operation systems are different by country although patent applications are increasing rapidly internationally. Another purpose is to monitor China which tries to control foreign businesses with an unreasonable patent system.

 

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun dated the 6^th, the five-country patent summit meeting to be held in France in June will discuss international patent standardization in earnest. There are as many as 40 target areas to be standardized.

 

 

5. China has trademarks registered from ‘A pad’ to ‘Z pad’

 

A survey of the homepages of the Chinese National Trademark Bureau confirmed that all names from ‘A pad’ to ‘Z pad’ are registered as trademarks. This means that if Apple lost in the ‘iPad’ trademark suit it does not have an opportunity to use another name. This is a serious situation because the ‘(i) naming from Apple’s iPod to iPhone are directly connected to marketability as well as identity. It is foreseen that if Apple loses the first trial and the final trial it should pay a fine of 30 billion yuan and “an order to prohibit using the trademark should be issued immediately.”

 

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun of Japan pointed out, “China’s self-centered policy of protecting intellectual property rights does not help industrial development.”

 

 

6. “Using a nationally known art is not patent infringement”

 

Haan Kyung Hee Living Science well known as a steam cleaner manufacturing and selling company finally won in a litigation with a small business over patent infringement on a skin care mask pack (commodity name: Aesthetic RX).

 

J Company filed a lawsuit last year, contending, “The Haan Kyung Hee product with a silicone-made adhesive part formed on the bottom of the mask vibration generating part constitutes patent infringement as it is a means identical to a skin absorbency improvement device.”

 

However, the court pointed out on the issue of ‘the method of forming a protrusion on the bottom of the vibration generating part and inserting it into a slot to form a joint’, “That it is to fix the motor by forming a certain space in the mask is not only a method that any person skilled in the art can choose freely as necessary but also it is no more than a joining method in the public domain of the relevant art.”