kipo.go.kr Trademarks Application Procedure South Korea : Korean Intellectual Property Office
Name of the Organization : Korean Intellectual Property Office
Type of Facility : Trademarks Application Procedure
Country : South Korea
| Want to comment on this post? Go to bottom of this page. |
|---|
Trademarks Application Procedure :
Trademarks and service marks are protected in the Republic of Korea under the Trademark Act; and for such protection, marks should be registered with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO).
Related : KIPO Designs Application Procedure South Korea : www.statusin.org/7578.html
The use of a trademark is not a prerequisite for filing an application for the registration of a trademark. Although the Trademark Act does not protect unregistered marks, it does provide protection of well-known or famous marks by restricting the registration of an identical or similar mark. There is no course of action against infringement of a well-known or famous unregistered trademark under the Trademark Act, but action may be pursued under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.
The Korean Trademark Law is characterized by :
i) First-to-File Rule;
ii) Substantive Examination;
iii) Opposition
Filing an Application:
(i) Applicant:
Any person who uses or intends to use a trademark in the Republic of Korea may file an application for the registration of a trademark. Although the Korean Trademark Act has adopted a registration system, the applicant should have a bona fide intent to use his/her trademark in the Republic of Korea. Nonetheless, trademarks which are not used must also be registered. Such trademarks, however, will be subject to cancellation if they remain unused for three or more consecutive years after their registration.
(ii) Document Required:
For a trademark application, the following documents should be submitted to KIPO:
(a) an application stating the following: the name and address of the applicant (including the name of an executive officer, if the applicant is a juristic person); the trademark; the designated goods and class thereof; the date of submission; and the country and filing date of the priority application, if the right of priority is claimed;
(b) 10 specimens of the trademark (8cm x 8cm or smaller in size);
(c) the priority document if the right of priority is claimed; and
(d) a power of attorney, if necessary.
Only document (a) must be submitted at the time of filing the trademark application. The name of an executive officer of the applicant may be added later on the applicant’s own initiative or in response to a notice of amendment issued from KIPO.
If the applicant fails to submit specimens of the trademark or power of attorney at the time of filing the trademark application, KIPO will issue a notice of amendment with a designated time limit to the applicant. The priority document must be submitted within 3 months from the filing date of the trademark application in the Republic of Korea. This time limit cannot be extended.
(iii) Designation of Goods/Services: Nice Classification:
A person who desires to file a trademark application must designate the goods/services for which the trademark is to be used in accordance with the Nice Classification of Goods or Services for the Purpose of Registration of Marks. The Republic of Korea adopted the Nice Classification on March 1, 1998.
A trademark application may be filed for the registration of a trademark for goods or services which fall under several classes in accordance with the Nice Classification. In this case, the applicant must pay additional fees for each classification.
(iv) Claim of Priority:
The right of priority can be claimed in a trademark application for an applicant whose country of origin is part of the Paris Convention or under a bilateral agreement between the two relevant governments or on a reciprocal basis. In order to enjoy the priority right, an application should be filed in the Republic of Korea within 6 months from the filing date of the priority application. The priority document should be submitted to KIPO within 3 months from the filing date of his/her application.
Formal Examination:
According to Article 2(1) of the Enforcement Regulation of the Trademark Act, an application will be returned to the submitter without an application number and will be treated as if it had never been submitted in any of the following circumstances:
(i) where the kind of the application is not clear;
(ii) where the name or address of a person (or juristic person) who takes the procedure (i.e. the applicant) is not described;
(iii) where the application is not written in Korean;
(iv) where a specimen of the trademark is not attached to the application paper;
(v) where the designated goods/services are not described in the application paper; or
(vi) where the application is submitted, by a person who has no address or place of business in the Republic of Korea, without coming through a patent agent in the Republic of Korea.
Once the application has satisfied such requirements, KIPO assigns an application number and examines it against the formality requirements of the Trademark Act. If anything is found missing or wrong, the commissioner of KIPO will issue a notice of amendment with a specified time limit to the applicant. If the applicant does not comply with the requests for amendment, the trademark application will be nullified.