Trademark Protection in South Korea

South Korea is an economically developed country that attracts many entrepreneurs looking to scale their business. So, let’s take a closer look at the advantages of trademark protection in South Korea & potential problems that applicants may encounter with registering a trademark in South Korea.

Registration of a Trademark in South Korea: Potential Problems

One of the most common problems encountered by registered trademark owners is the lack of access to the personal data of trademark infringers. Due to the strict protection of personal data in South Korea, it is difficult to obtain information about counterfeiters from government agencies or online platforms. Hence, getting & maintaining TM protection in South Korea becomes a real challenge.

Experts note that TM regulation in South Korea is less reliable than in other countries. This mainly relates to the detection and collection of evidence, which strongly influences the preparation strategies and expected objectives of initiating a TM infringement lawsuit in South Korea.

Trade in counterfeit goods is rampant in the country. They are moving to more segmented sites and platforms, causing copyright holders to spend a great deal of time and effort to identify them & remove them from the market.

A large number of counterfeit products have moved from mainstream e-commerce platforms to blogs and social media, thus making it increasingly difficult for TM owners to ensure effective protection of a TM in South Korea. This, in turn, makes tracking counterfeit goods and protecting registered trademarks in South Korea an enormous challenge.

However, things are not that bad. It should be borne in mind that TM dispute resolution in South Korea & anti-counterfeiting measures are one of the priorities of the country's government. It’s expected that criminal penalties for engagement in counterfeit activities are likely to be made even stiffer & lead to, if not disappearance, then a substantial decrease in the number of counterfeit goods.