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IP Newsletter | Fall 2017
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PATENT
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Patent Court Holds Its First Ever Hearing in English
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Substantial efforts are being made by the Korean Government to turn Korea into an Asian regional IP Hub. The most recent effort involves creating an International IP Hub Court, a specialized court panel within the Patent Court which will decide patent-related appeals in English
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Currently, the ratio of IP disputes heard by the Patent Court involving foreign entities or individuals exceeds 40%. To further encourage foreign IP owners to use the Korean Patent Court as a hub for international IP disputes, the Korean Government is considering creating the "IP Hub Court," which will accept briefs and conduct proceedings in English.
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Test Case
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On June 28, 2017, for the first time in the history of the Korean courts, a hearing was conducted in English. The case was an appeal of a final rejection of a patent application pursued by 3M Innovative Properties Company ("Petitioner"). The Respondent was the Korean Intellectual Property Office ("KIPO"), and the case was heard by the Patent Court.
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During the hearing, both parties gave their presentations in English. Questions from the Patent Court and the parties' responses were also provided in English. Further, the decision was also made available in English.
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While only the final hearing and decision were in English in the test case, if the IP Hub Court is fully implemented, English will be used for the entire proceedings. This means that briefs can be submitted in English, and all hearings will be conducted in English.
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Our Historical Participation
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Kim & Chang was fortunate to participate in this historic event representing the Petitioner in the test case. We hope this test case will lead the Korean Government to fully implement the system to encourage more foreign entities to consider Korea as a possible forum for international patent disputes.
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Back to Main Page
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If you have any questions regarding this article, please contact:
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For more information, please visit our website: www.ip.kimchang.com
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