The South Korean Patent Court recently ruled that the trademark Fishcake Restaurant for a sausage stew delivery service should be invalidated, on the ground that the mark may mislead consumers to believe that the service delive…READ MORE

On October 19 2021, the Korean Patent Act was amended to allow a ‘separated application’, so as to pursue potentially allowable portions of the pending claims even after an appeal against a final rejection has been rejected (Ar…READ MORE

Reflecting the changes in the current market situation, it is noteworthy that Korean courts’ recent cases considered visual appearance more important than sound in determining the similarity of trademarks.Jurisprudence in determ…READ MORE

In South Korea, a one-year grace period is allowed for certain novelty-destroying events before the filing date so as to be removed from prior art for novelty and inventive step. However, unlike other countries, South Korea doe…READ MORE

Since the Supreme Court dropped the ‘registration defense’ for later-registered marks by anen bancrulingin early 2021, even the use of registered marks can infringe an earlier-registered mark in Korea. Accordingly, it is worth …READ MORE

As of May5 2021, a four-year re-examination period for post-marketing surveillance (PMS) can be granted for pediatric drugs by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) upon regulatory approval involving ‘foreign’ clinical tr…READ MORE

In Korea, unlike for patents, utility models and designs, in the case of trademark infringement, the Supreme Court had ruled that use of a registered trademark which is identical or similar to an earlier trademark, does not con…READ MORE

The government announced a plan to restructure the generic drug pricing system with the main goal of switching from the existing ‘same medicine, same price’ principle to a ‘tiered drug pricing system’ at the end of March 2019. …READ MORE

Trademarks can last forever through constant renewals, even after the expiration of an associated patent. Under the recently revised damage systems in the Korean Trademark Act, namely the adoption of punitive damages and the in…READ MORE

With each new year, pharmaceutical companies are faced with the loss of exclusivity that accompanies the expiration of their patents, and by the same token, drug manufacturers are also afforded new opportunities and challenges …READ MORE

Korea Seed Industry Act (KSIA) and its Implementing Regulation, effective as of June 19 2020, a person who intends to sell propagating materials of certain types of foreign plant varieties should report this fact to the Ministr…READ MORE

On May 20 2020, the Korean Patent Act (KPA) was amended such that mixed damages of lost profits and a reasonable royalty for patent infringement may be claimed by a patentee and awarded by the court. The amendment will apply to…READ MORE

Recently, the Korean Patent Court rendered a favourable decision on the patentability of medical use inventions in which strict scrutiny was employed for two aspects of the enablement and inventiveness requirements.In the decis…READ MORE

It is often time that matters in business. For trademarks, a prompt registration is probably the single most important issue in all areas of business, not just in the fashion industry. In Korea, it takes approximately one to 1.…READ MORE

As of December 2019, designs of trendy fashion items can be registered within 10 days in Korea.General practice for design examinationKorea has a unique examination system for design applications. It is a combination of the sub…READ MORE