The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO, Commissioner Kim, Young-min) and
the Korea Customs Service (Commissioner Baek, Un-chan) announced the signing of
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on June 17 (Monday) in Daejeon Government
Complex to build a mutually cooperative system, in order to actively tackle the
import and export of goods which infringe intellectual property rights (IPRs)
and protect IPRs in Korea.
KIPO has been responsible for a crackdown on
IPR infringements in Korea while the Korea Customs Service has also led a
crackdown on counterfeit goods passing through customs.
KIPO operated a
special judicial police squad on trademark infringements from September 2012 to
May this year, during which time, it charged 647 infringers and confiscated
about 290,000 items. Last year the Korea Customs Service uncovered counterfeit
IPRs worth an estimated KRW 930 billion.
Despite the achievements of
these crackdowns, IPR infringement issues are becoming increasingly global. This
July marks the second year of the Republic of Korea-European Union Free Trade
Agreement (ROK-EU FTA) coming into effect and the items subject to IPR
protection when passing through Korean customs will expand from trademarks and
copyrights to include patents and design rights, all of which is a sign of the
rapidly changing IPR protection environment.
The Korea Customs Service
is fully responsible for imported and exported goods passing through national
borders while KIPO possesses expert man power in IPRs. It is therefore a moment
for both organizations to forge an active system of cooperation.
Once
cooperation is underway between the two organizations, KIPO examiners and trial
examiners will work alongside the Korea Customs Service to determine whether
imported and exported goods passing through customs infringe on patent and
design rights, for the precise and timely rescue of IPRs.
In addition,
the system is expected to minimize the damage to consumers caused by counterfeit
goods by providing countermeasures and quick checks to judge the authenticity of
declarations. There will also be an active response against corrupt businesses
falsely selling counterfeit goods as genuine by openly presenting counterfeit
import report certificates on online shopping malls, which have seen an increase
in use over recent years.
In future, both organizations plan to link
their work actively to enhance the effectiveness of IPR protection while
continuing to develop a cooperation system for mutual coexistence that reduces
barriers between the departments.
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