1. Korean Intellectual Property Office revises the enforcement rules of the Design Protection Act to improve convenience for applicants

The number system for identification items in design drawings attached to applications has been simplified from the current two-digit display system to a single-digit display system. In addition, the format of the 3D computer modeling file that can be submitted instead of a drawing was reorganized to maintain IGES, but the remaining formats were replaced with the recommended STP, STL, and OBJ. The replaced format has the same technical characteristics, but is widely used in the field due to its high stability and compatibility, and is recommended by the Committee on WIPO Standards.

In addition, it was decided to promote the application of image designs by integrating the ‘Use of image design’ section, which must be entered when filing an image design application, with the existing ‘Description of design’ section to unify and facilitate application.

2. Patent applications increased by 2.4% compared to the previous year... Semiconductor 12.3%, secondary battery 11.4%↑

The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced that in 2023, a total of 557,000 applications for industrial property rights, including patent rights, utility model rights, trademark rights, and design rights, were recorded. This is a 0.03% increase from the previous year. There were 243,000 patent applications, a 2.4% increase from the previous year, 255,000 trademark applications, a 1.5% decrease from the previous year, and 55,000 design applications, a 2.3% decrease from the previous year. By applicant type, there was an increase in small and medium-sized enterprises (65,380 cases, 3.8% ↑), large corporations (48,391 cases, 7.6% ↑), and universities and public institutions (31,441 cases, 9.2% ↑), while foreigners (52,145 cases) Cases, 3.2%↓), and domestic individuals (33,522 cases, 4.0%↓) decreased. Looking at each technology field, the increase was centered on high-tech and key industries such as semiconductors (12.3%↑), electrical machinery and energy including secondary batteries (11.4%↑), and digital communications (10.3%↑). Applications decreased in fields such as e-commerce (6.0%↓) and audio-visual technology (6.6%↓), which are non-face-to-face (digitalization)-related technologies that emerged in the COVID-19 situation.

3. Last year, the number of industrial property rights dispute mediation cases at the Korean Intellectual Property Office was the highest ever... Average 66 days

The number of applications for industrial property dispute mediation at the Korea Intellectual Property Office has reached an all-time high of 159 since the establishment of the committee in 1995. Among them, individual small and medium-sized enterprises accounted for the largest number, with 134 cases, and 111 trademark/design cases, or 70%. The number of cases being resolved through dispute mediation instead of IP litigation is increasing. The dispute mediation period is 66 days, and the first trial processing period for IP lawsuits is 554 days for patents and 393 days for trademarks. The Korean Intellectual Property Office's mediation success rate is 53%, and the average civil mediation success rate is 30.7%.

The industrial property rights dispute mediation system is a system that resolves intellectual property disputes such as patents, trademarks, and trade secrets through dialogue and agreement between the parties with the help of experts. It has the advantage of being able to resolve disputes quickly and economically compared to litigation. When mediation is established through the industrial property rights dispute mediation system, it has the same ‘judicial reconciliation’ effect as a final judgment.

4. The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced that it would “increase the budget for small business IP capacity building by 25%.”

The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced on the 31st that it will increase this year’s budget by 25% for the ‘Small Business IP Capacity Strengthening Project’, which helps small business owners acquire intellectual property rights. This project was introduced in the wake of the 'Pohang Deopjuk', which gained recognition through broadcasting, and the 'Chuncheon Potato Bread' incident, which caused controversy when a large company sold similar products. The project budget, which was about 3.4 billion won last year, is about 4.3 billion won this year. It is expected to increase to that level.

In particular, the 'IP Creation Comprehensive Package Support Project', which supports the convergence development of brands and designs that reflect market, product, and characteristics, decided to double the number of selected companies and select 10 companies from each city and province. The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced last year that small business owners 3,887 cases through the ‘IP Application Support Project’ that supports applications for business names, etc., 223 cases through the ‘Traditional Market Joint Brand/Design Development Support Project’ that reflects the characteristics of traditional markets and alley commercial districts, and 180 IP creation comprehensive package support projects. A total of 4,290 rights were supported through this project.