| Summer/Fall 2014 |
| PATENT |
| Amendments to the Korean Patent Act to Implement Patent Law Treaty |
| On April 29, 2014, a bill of amendments to the Korean Patent Act was passed by the Korean National Assembly in order to implement the Patent Law Treaty, which seeks to harmonize patent procedures in its member countries. The proposed amendments to the Korean Patent Act were signed into law by the president on June 11, 2014. The newly enacted amendments include a number of important changes to Korean patent procedures, such as relaxing requirements for obtaining the filing date of a patent application. Most of the changes in the amendments will go into effect on January 1, 2015. Read more |
| Utility Models May Warrant a Second Look |
| Compared to patents, utility models are often given less attention, as they only protect the shape or structure of an article and have a much shorter duration—10 years of protection from the filing date (as opposed to 20 years for patents). However, utility models may be worth a second look, particularly for inventions with short lifespans or that may involve a relatively lower or incremental level of inventiveness. Read more |
| Beyond Remsima™ and Herzuma™: Biosimilar Regulations in Korea |
| The global market for biosimilars is expected to be worth nearly USD 2 billion by 2018. The Asia-Pacific market, which accounts for 29% of the global market, is forecast to grow the fastest. In 2009, Korea adopted a legal framework and regulatory pathway for approval of biosimilars that was primarily adapted from the European model. Since implementing the biosimilar pathway, two products—Remsima™ (infliximab) in 2012 and Herzuma™ (trastuzumab) in 2014, both developed by Celltrion— have been approved. Read more |
| Korean Court Holds for the First Time that "Skinny Labeled" Generic Still Infringes a Patent for a Non-labeled Indication |
| Where a drug is approved for multiple indications, one or more of which (but not all) is covered by a patent, a question may be raised whether a generic company infringes that patent by making or selling a generic version of the drug for any use. In general, if a generic company makes or sells a generic drug for an indication which is not covered by a patent, then it is not infringing the patent. However, in Warner-Lambert Company LLC, et al. v. Samjin Pharmaceutical, the generic company was held to infringe the asserted patent even though its product information leaflet carved out the patented indication. This is the first time a Korean court has decided the issue of whether a generic product with skinny labeling infringes a patent for a non-labeled indication. Read more |
| Korean Supreme Court Requires Review of Specification to Define Technical Meaning for Claim Construction |
| Recently, the Korean Supreme Court clarified its guidance on claim construction for determining the technical meaning of a claimed invention. Previously, the Korean Supreme Court's holdings were divided in two camps: (i) in cases where the scope of the claim was apparent from the language of the claim, the Court held that the claim should be construed based on the claim language itself and cannot be construed restrictively based on the specification; at the same time (ii) the Court held that since the technical meaning of a claimed invention cannot be clearly understood without considering the specification, the claim should be construed objectively and reasonably based on the detailed description or drawings in addition to the ordinary meaning of the language of the claim. Read more |
| TRADEMARK & DESIGN |
| SPA Loses Distinctiveness in Korean Cosmetic Industry |
| On September 4, 2014, the Supreme Court confirmed the Patent Court's recent ruling that the term SPA is no longer distinctive for cosmetics in Korea, and has not been since at least 2012. This decision is significant because the Supreme Court previously recognized in 2003 that the term SPA had been distinctive in the Korean cosmetic industry around 1999. Read more |
| Amendments to the Korean Trademark Act |
| Amendments to the Korean Trademark Act have been published on June 11, 2014, which are effective immediately. The amendments apply to marks filed on or after June 11, 2014. Read more |
| Korea Joins the Hague Agreement, Amends Design Act |
| As of July 1, 2014, pursuant to Korea's recent accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, the procedures of the Hague Agreement are now effective in Korea, as well as a number of new amendments to the Korean Design Protection Act. These amendments provide greater protection for parties that apply for design rights in Korea, and also make the design application process easier and more practical. Read more |
| Tips for Filing International Design Applications Designating Korea |
| As of July 1, 2014, it is now possible to designate Korea when filing international applications under the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs. The followings are several tips to keep in mind when designating Korea on such an application. Read more |
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