KIPO, to hold a presentation meeting for a revised trade mark law and a public meeting for a bill on subordinate law revision

□ A trade mark law has been revised at the end of last year so as to give protection to geological names of regional special products,

ㅇ To enforce the revised trade mark law from the coming July, a public meeting was held to discuss new enforcement ordinances and law regulations at the international conference room of the Korea Intellectual Property Research Center at 2 pm on April 1.

□ Under the new enforcement ordinances of the trade mark law:

ㅇ You can register a product name containing a geological title which is the origin of your regional product as a trade mark if a producers’ group in the region makes an application of “ A group trade mark described by a geological title”.

ㅇ If a producers’ group wants to register a group trade mark with a geological title,
- All it has to do is submit the articles of association containing details about the product’s certain quality, fame and other characteristics, and correlation between the subject region’s geological environment and the above mentioned product details. It should also submit documents proving the subject area is identical with the definition of a geological title

ㅇ To make a geological title patented and stabilize a group trade mark system containing a geological title,

- Regional autonomous groups which have direct interests in trade mark with the subject area’s geological title can submit their opinions to the KIPO regarding group trade mark application for a geological title.

If the newly laid enforcement ordinances of the trade mark are to be fixed within the first half of this year and take effect from this July,

ㅇ In the past, for example, the existing brands containing geological titles indicating the certain origin of product like ‘Boseong Green Tea’ could not be registered as a trade mark under the Clause 1-3(the origin of product), the Article 6 of the Trade Mark Law or the Clause 1-4(outstanding geological name), the same law.

ㅇ However, in the future, it would be possible to register a geological name as a trade mark if an application for a regional special product is made as a group trade mark with a geological title.

- Thanks to this, proper intellectual property right protection will be given to a group trade mark containing a geological title which is registered by a producers’ group.

- There will be a systematic support to find more regional special products and improve their quality.

- Additionally, this will boost the regional economy suffering from the expanded opening of agricultural product market by promoting consumption of differentiated regional special products.