Three-Character Names Are the Trend in 'Trademarks'... Increase in Patent Applications for Korean Personal Name Trademarks

Example cases of 'name trademarks' including the names of celebrities. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Trademark applications including the name of the trademark owner (hereinafter referred to as personal name trademarks) are increasing.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on the 27th, personal name trademark applications have shown a growth rate of 14.6% over the past three years. The number of applications by year increased as follows: 1,438 in 2017, 1,583 in 2018, 1,648 in 2019, and 1,188 as of the end of September this year.

During the same period, the distribution of applications by product type (industry, etc.) showed that the food service industry led with 1,109 applications (19.0%), followed by business management with 663 (11.3%), education and entertainment with 424 (7.2%), coffee and tea with 330 (5.6%), meat and fish with 315 (5.4%), cosmetics with 306 (5.2%), and scientific instruments with 233 (4.0%).

Well-known personal name trademarks include those filed by famous entertainers such as ‘Baek0won’s Original Ssambap House’, ‘Hong0gyeong The Hansang Table’, and ‘Lim0jeong’s Soju One Glass’.

Additionally, there is a diverse distribution of personal name trademark applications such as ‘Park0young’s Stew Bogle Bogle’, ‘Lee0sung Doctor Coffee’, ‘Park0moon’s Ten Thousand Won Pig’, ‘Kim0gwan Photo Studio’, ‘Seon0ja Rice Bran Cosmetics’, and ‘Gwak0ro Women’s Hospital’.

KIPO analyzes that the increase in personal name trademark applications is due to the fact that using an actual name as a trademark provides quality assurance and trust to consumers, and that it is relatively easier to register a trademark using one’s unique proper noun (name) because of its clear distinctiveness.

However, when applying for a trademark using a personal name, caution is needed because if a person with the same name has already applied for or registered a trademark for identical or similar goods, the trademark registration may be refused. Also, if the applicant’s name is identical or similar to a well-known person’s name, even if the trademark has not been applied for or registered, registration cannot be granted without the consent of the well-known person.

Conversely, KIPO explains that even if the trademark is identical to a previously registered trademark, the owner of the registered trademark cannot prohibit the use of a trademark that displays the applicant’s personal name in a customary manner.

Moon Sam-seop, Director of the Trademark and Design Examination Bureau at KIPO, said, “The increase in personal name trademark applications reflects applicants’ intention to differentiate their products from others and strengthen competitiveness,” and added, “We hope that Korean-language trademarks like personal name trademarks will continue to be actively developed, producing many representative Korean trademarks that will thrive not only domestically but also in the global market.”