Executive Summary
Changes in Korean intellectual property system from 2021
Effective March 2021
Digital forensics support for companies with trade secret leakage
Digital forensics support targeting SMEs to secure evidence in the event of trade secret leakage (total of 90 cases in 2021)
the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act- Article 2-5 & 17
Effective April 2021
Publication of the recommendation for correcting unfair competition practices
Enforcement of applicable provisions for, in the event of non-compliance with the recommendation for corrective action against unfair competition practices, publication of such violation in the Official Gazette, etc.
the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act Article 8(2) (Promulgation: October 20, 2020, Enforcement: April 21, 2021)
Effective April 2021
Punitive damages system for idea theft
A person who intentionally steals someone else’s idea shall be liable for compensation up to three times the amount recognized as damages
the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act Article 14-2(6) (Promulgation: October 20, 2020, Enforcement: April 21, 2021)
Effective June 2021
Application of change in the method of calculating damages
In the event of trademark and design rights infringement or unfair competition practices, compensation for damages shall be calculated based on the infringing goods sold or transferred by the infringer regardless of the production capacity of the right holder
the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act Article 14-2(1) (Amendment: December 22, 2020, Enforcement: April 21, 2021)
The Trademark Act Article 110(1) (Amendment: December 22, 2020, Enforcement: June 23, 2021)
The Design Protection Act Article 115(2) (Amendment: December 22, 2020, Enforcement: June 23, 2021)
Trend in Intellectual Property Statistics in 2021
According to the trend in the intellectual property statistics of April 2021 announced by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the cumulative number of applications for patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks from January to April 2021 amounted to 190,486, which is an increase of 15.4% compared to the same period of the previous year, registrations amounted to 112,274, an increase of 8.3% compared to the same period of the previous year, requests for substantive examination amounted to 71,770, an increase of 8.9% compared to the same period of the previous year, and requests for trial amounted to 2,552, a decrease of 9.1% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Looking at the number of applications, among these, the number of utility model applications decreased by 4.7%, while patent, design, and trademark applications increased by 7.2%, 9.3%, and 24.1%, respectively, which is an increase in the overall intellectual property application filings, despite the aftermath of COVID-19. This increase in the number of applications was mainly driven by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).