IP Newsletter | Spring 2015
	TRADEMARK, DESIGN, COPYRIGHT & UNFAIR COMPETITION
	Another Victory for Hermès in Korea
	On January 29, 2015, the Seoul Central District Court issued an injunction order against Suwa United Corporation ("Suwa United"), a Korean corporation, for violating the new catch-all provision of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act ("UCPA"). Suwa United is now prohibited from manufacturing or selling polyester bags on which images of Hermès' iconic Birkin and Kelly bags are printed.
	(Hermès Bags) vs. (images printed on Suwa United Bags)
	The District Court found that Suwa United's activities constituted unauthorized infringement of Hermès' right to profit by using Hermès' famous bag designs (which Hermès produced through considerable effort and investment) for the benefit of Suwa United's business, in violation of the catch-all provision of the UCPA. The District Court specifically recognized that the shapes of Hermès' Birkin and Kelly bags had achieved such iconic status that they were now perceived as source identifiers for Hermès, through Hermès' substantial investment and effort (including extensive advertising and continuous and long-term monopolistic use of the designs). That Suwa United's products were made out of different materials than Hermès' products (polyester vs. leather) and were sold at significantly different prices were deemed irrelevant facts by the District Court, since the act of copying the shapes of the famous Birkin and Kelly bags without authorization from Hermès was contrary to fair commercial practice, and clearly was done by Suwa United in order to free ride on the reputation Hermès had acquired for its bags and thereby to increase the sales of Suwa United's products. The District Court also noted that Suwa United could not have achieved the sales it had been able to obtain (Suwa United's products were very popular in Korea for a certain period of time) without copying the shapes of the famous luxury bags. The District Court thus concluded that an infringer and its victim need not be engaged in direct competition nor must the infringing products be a direct replacement of the genuine products in order to find that an act of unfair competition or an illegal act under the Civil Code had been committed. The District Court also awarded KRW 100,000,000 (about USD 90,000) in damages to Hermès and Hermès Korea. This case is currently under appeal before the High Court.
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