22 March 2021
Lee International persuaded IPTAB to acknowledge an inventive step of an invention of Organic Laser with the arguments that combining the prior art references is not considered easy when problem-solving principles are different and there are elements hind
The Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB) ruled on January 25, 2021 that the invention of a patent application entitled “Organic Laser” (“Subject Application”), which is handled by LEE INTERNATIONAL, has an inventive step. Particularly, the Subject Application was finally rejected for lack of an inventive step by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) twice. Howe…
19 February 2021
Amendment to the Korean Trademark Examination Guidelines Effective January 1, 2021: The Goods “Software” Are Now Required To Be Specified In Terms of Purpose
This is to inform you that the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has amended the Korean Trademark Examination Guidelines (“Guidelines”) regarding the goods “software” as of January 1, 2021. According to the amended Guidelines, the goods “software” are required to be specified in terms of its purpose (e.g., “game software” or “software for vehicle navigation”) for all trademark appli…
19 February 2021
Legislation Update: Enhanced Damages for Infringement on Intellectual Property Rights in Korea
Following the revision of the Korean Patent Act with respect to the provisions for calculating damages for patent infringement, the Korean National Assembly passed a bill to revise the Korean Trademark Act, the Design Protection Act, and the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act to allow a rightful owner to claim damages for the infringer’s sale of infringing products excee…
19 February 2021
Expansion of Articles for the Partial-Substantive Examination System (PSES) in Korea
On November 30, 2020, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced that the number of articles for the PSES will be expanded from three to seven as of December 1, 2020.Designs of products that have short commercial life cycles and are easily imitated, such as clothing, textile piece goods, artificial and natural sheet material, and stationery and office equipment which belong in Locarn…
19 February 2021
Introduction of Punitive Damages System for Trademark and Design Infringement
A bill to revise the Korean Trademark Act and the Design Protection Act introducing punitive damages for trademark and design infringement was passed by the Korean National Assembly on September 24, 2020. The revised Trademark Act and the revised Design Protection Act will take effect starting in April 2021. The revised Trademark Act and the revised Design Protection Act will allo…
19 February 2021
Patent Term Adjustment Reduction due to delayed registration by applicant is changed
- The Patent Term Adjustment is reduced as applicant delay by the period from the receipt of a Notice of Final Rejection until the conclusion date of continued examination. Previously, the applicant delay period was determined until the date requesting continued examination. - The Patent Term Adjustment is reduced, if documents necessary for substantive examination is not filed wi…
19 February 2021
KIPO starts to accept documents digitally signed by foreign applicants or patentees
As of June 17, 2020, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) started to accept (general or limited) powers of attorney and electronic (remote) notarial certificates signed digitally by foreign applicants or patentees, provided that their Korean translations include an agent’s statement affirming the authenticity of such digital signatures. This is also applicable to cases in which a di…
19 February 2021
Legislation Update: Enhanced Damages for Patent Infringement in Korea
The Korean Patent Act was revised as of May 20, 2020 with respect to the provisions for calculating damages for patent infringement. Under the pre-revised Act, no damages could be claimed for infringing products in a quantity exceeding a patentee’s capacity to produce its patented products. However, according to the revision, it is now possible for a patentee to claim damages even for t…
19 February 2021
Covid-19: Relief Measures at IP5 (updated on May 8, 2020)
The IP5 Offices, which include the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO), the National Intellectual Property Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNIPA), and the Japan Patent Office (JPO), have announced measures to relieve missing of deadlines or loss of rights caused by the COVID-19. &nbs…
19 February 2021
Covid-19: Additional Ex-Officio Extension of Deadlines before KIPO
Further to its last announcement on the ex-officio extension on March 31, 2020, KIPO announced on April 28, 2020 that due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 worldwide, the deadline for submitting some documents relating to prosecution of pending applications for patent, utility model, trademark or design will be further extended to May 31, 2020 by the ex officio authority. This is a precautio…
