SOUTH KOREA Law and Practice Contributed by: Dongju Kwon, Chulgun Lim, Sejung Lee and Yoon Sun Kim, Yoon & Yang LLC
The following trade marks cannot be registered: • marks that are identical/similar to: (a) national flags or emblems of international organisations; (b) another’s previously registered trade mark for identical/similar designated goods; (c) another’s famous trade mark for identical/simi - lar goods; or (d) a famous geographical indication for identical/ similar goods; • marks that are likely to: (a) defame or insult a nation, race or religion or a famous deceased person; (b) contravene good morals or harm public order; (c) cause confusion or impair the distinctiveness or reputation of a famous person’s goods or business; or (d) mislead as to the quality of goods or deceive consumers; • marks that include a famous person’s name or portrait without their consent; or • marks that consist solely of a three-dimensional shape, colour, sound or scent that is necessary to secure the function of the goods or packaging. It is possible and common to apply for trade mark reg - istration by selecting multiple classifications of goods. Registration Application An application form with the name and address of the applicant, designated goods and services, etc, should be submitted to MOIP for registration, with the follow - ing attachments: • a specimen of the mark; • an explanation of the mark; and • sound files or olfactory samples for marks with non-visual elements (such as sound or scent), or videos for motion marks. Registration Costs Registration applications can be made both offline and online. The basic fee for a single trade mark application is approximately KRW62,000 per class of goods plus additional fees for designated goods (KRW2,000 added for each designated good if more
than ten items) for offline, and KRW10,000 less for online applications. Registration Applicants Any entity using or intending to use a trade mark in Korea can register their trade mark. Foreign individu - als and corporations can also apply. A patent attor - ney does not necessarily need to be appointed as an agent. 4.5 Use in Commerce Prior to Registration The use of a trade mark in commerce prior to its appli - cation or registration is not required for trade mark registration. However, the registration may be revoked if the trade mark owner or the licensee does not use the trade mark on the designated goods for at least When examining a trade mark application, the exam - iner should investigate the existence of a prior regis - tered trade mark. A trade mark that is identical/similar to another’s previously filed or registered one for iden - tical/similar designated goods cannot be registered, and the examiner will reject the application. However, under the amended Trade Mark Act that came into effect on 1 May 2024, one can register a subsequent trade mark with the consent of the owner of the prior registered trade mark for similar goods. If any of the co-existing trade marks are subsequently used in bad faith, thereby causing misunderstanding or confusion amongst consumers, the registration may be revoked. 4.7 Revocation, Change, Amendment or Correction of an Application Trade mark applications can be withdrawn or aban - doned, and there are procedures for amending and changing an application. three consecutive years after registration. 4.6 Consideration of Prior Rights in Registration Amendment refers to an applicant correcting proce - dural or substantive defects in the application volun - tarily or upon MOIP’s order within the following scope without altering the essence of the initial application: • reducing the scope of designated goods;
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