SOUTH KOREA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Hwansung Park, Eunwoo (Vera) Lee, Hankil D. Kang and Jung Heo, Lee & Ko
enjoy, and dispose of them on the basis of their pro- prietary rights; and that reformation activities are also closely related to the freedom to exercise ownership, freedom of expression, the enhancement of consumer welfare, and environmental sustainability. At the same time, the Court left open an exception where, although the reformation service appears on its face to be for personal use, the service provider in substance domi- nates and controls the reformation process and treats the reformed products as its own goods for distribu- tion in the market under special circumstances war- ranting such an assessment, in which case trade mark infringement may be established.
This decision is highly progressive in that, in business models involving reformation, upcycling, and custom- isation – where the line between personal use and market distribution is often blurred – it readjusts the scope of trade mark protection by balancing not only trade mark owners’ rights but also consumer welfare, the exercise of ownership, and the value of resource circulation. As such, it carries significant practical implications not only for reformation service provid- ers but also for trade mark owners in Korea who place a strong emphasis on brand control.
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