IP Report

Changes in Korean Intellectual Property System proposed for 2020

  • Writer: 특허법인아주
  • Date: 2020-04-14 15:03
  • Keeping pace with the revision of the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening Competitiveness of Materials, Parts, and Equipment Industries that will come into force from April 1, 2020, the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board added an invalidation action, and a trial to confirm the scope of rights, the party of which is a company that seeks confirmation of materials, parts and equipment, within the preferential trial examination.  According to the revision of the system, when any dispute arises between companies related to materials, parts and equipment industries, more prompt settlement of the dispute than before is expected.
  • Before, software including prior patent technology was only protected under the Patent Law when it was stored in a physical recording medium (CD, hard disks, USB, etc.) to be distributed.  However, in the amended Patent Law (that came into effect on March 11, 2020), practicing “a method invention” includes “an act of offering the use of the process” within “the act of using the method.”  Accordingly, the act becomes the subject for which protection can be sought under the Patent Law regardless of a software distribution process, and consequently, unauthorized transmission of a program containing patented technology online by a third party corresponds to practicing a patented invention as well.

 

Application and registration statistics as of February, 2020

 

  • Examining application statistics up to February 29, 2020, the number of registrations was 21,713 patents, 396 utility models, 8,802 designs, and 20,718 trademarks, which shows an overall increase of 7.8% including a minimum of 2.4% (trademarks) and up to 13.7% (patents) compared to the same period in the previous year.
  • The number of applications was 31,721 for patents, 720 for utility models, 9,396 for designs and 37,266 for trademarks, compared with the same period in the previous year, and while patents and trademarks saw increases of 3.3% and 6.8%, respectively, utility models and designs decreased 17.5% and 0.4%, respectively, for an overall increase of 4.2%.  However, we will have to watch to see the effects that the aftermath of COVID-19 that began at the end of February and the unstable global stock market that has been on the rise since this month will have on the number of filings for intellectual property rights.

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