Lee International

The Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB) has recently announced the active promotion of a trial-mediation linkage procedure, which allows disputes to be resolved through mutual agreement between at the trial stage. 

Under this procedure, if the presiding trial judge determines that a case is more suitable for mediation than formal adjudication – typically in instances where the parties’ positions are strongly opposed and the dispute is likely to be prolonged – the case may be referred to the Industrial Property Dispute Mediation Committee, with the consent of both parties.  This procedure applies to inter-partes trials, such as invalidation and confirmation-of-scope trials.  A request for the trial-mediation linkage may be submitted at any time during the proceedings, provided both parties agree.  Once the request is made, the trial proceedings are suspended while mediation is pursued.  If mediation is successful, it carries the same legal effect as a settlement reached during a trial.  If mediation fails, the original trial proceedings resume.  The mediation linked to the trial is assigned a separate case number and benefits from expedited processing, as the presiding trial judge, who is already familiar with the case, participates directly as a member of the mediation committee.

The trial-mediation linkage procedure, introduced by the 2021 revision to the Patent Act (Article 164-2), has remained underutilized due to limited public awareness.  In response, the IPTAB plans to expand and actively promote the trial-mediation linkage procedure by improving operational procedures.  As part of this effort, the IPTAB will proactively introduce and guide the parties through the mediation process during the trial proceedings.  It also plans to establish a dedicated pool of trial judges who will serve as mediation committee members to ensure the timely and efficient handling of linked cases.  To further support user convenience, the IPTAB will provide trial room facilities in Daejeon as venues for mediation meetings.

Inter-partes trials, such as invalidation proceedings, can be lengthy and rigid, often making it difficult to achieve practice dispute resolution.  By leveraging the trial-mediation linkage procedure, parties will gain the opportunity to resolve the intellectual property disputes more quickly and flexibly, with the involvement of the IPTAB trial judges, who bring a high level of expertise and a deep understanding in the technical and legal issues at hand.