IP Newsletter | Fall/Winter 2015
	PATENT
	Jurisdiction over Intellectual Property Infringement Cases to be Consolidated
	On November 12, 2015, the Korean National Assembly passed amendments to the Korean Civil Procedure Act and Court Organization Act (i) to consolidate jurisdiction over infringement cases involving certain intellectual property rights (i.e., patents, utility models, trademarks, designs, and plant variety rights) (hereinafter "IP Infringement Cases") with five district courts, and also (ii) to reorganize intermediate appeals of IP Infringement Cases which will now be heard exclusively by the Patent Court. Currently, IP Infringement Cases can be brought before any district court satisfying the venue requirements. In order to increase efficiency and have more well-experienced judges deciding IP Infringement Cases, the amendment vests exclusive jurisdiction of IP Infringement Cases with the Seoul Central, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, and Gwangju district courts. Although IP Infringement Cases may be brought before whichever of these five district courts satisfies the relevant venue requirements, the Seoul Central District Court will have additional jurisdiction to hear any IP Infringement Cases regardless of venue, since it is considered to have the most expertise among the district courts concerning intellectual property-related matters. Consolidation of intermediate appeals of IP Infringement Cases under the Patent Court is another change designed to enhance the efficiency of reviewing such cases. Under current law, appeals of district court infringement cases are heard by the High Courts, whereas appeals of Intellectual Property Tribunal cases (including invalidation cases) are heard by the Patent Court. This bifurcated system can result in some inefficiencies, and occasionally conflicting decisions between the Patent Court and High Courts (which would then only be resolvable by the Supreme Court). Thus, the amendment is expected to enhance efficiency and consistency by ensuring that appeals of IP Infringement Cases will be heard exclusively by the Patent Court, which was instituted from the beginning to have special expertise in intellectual property-related matters. The consolidation of district court jurisdiction and Patent Court's exclusive jurisdiction will apply to all district court cases filed on or after January 1, 2016. In addition, the Patent Court's exclusive jurisdiction will also apply to appeals of IP Infringement Cases where the district court case is pending before January 1, 2016 and the district court decision is rendered on or after January 1, 2016.
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	Duck-Soon CHANG ducksoon.chang@kimchang.com Si Yul LEE sylee@kimchang.com John J. KIM jjhkim@ip.kimchang.com
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