KIPO Establishes 'New Industry Trademark Examination Division'
Rapid Increase in Trademark Applications in Convergence and New Industry Fields
Supporting and Responding to Companies' Swift Rights Acquisition
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has established the 'New Industry Trademark Examination Division' to support the rapid acquisition of rights for trademark applications in the convergence and new industry sectors. The New Industry Trademark Examination Division was created based on the autonomous organization system. This system allows each ministry to establish and operate organizations under the responsibility of the head of the institution to respond to national tasks, key projects of the institution head, and urgent issues.
The New Industry Trademark Examination Division will be responsible for examining trademark applications in the convergence and new industry sectors that have multiple product attributes, among trademark applications in Korea's core industries such as automobiles, semiconductors, information and communications, and research and development.
According to KIPO on the 16th, the average annual trademark applications for major convergence and new industry sector products from 2020 to 2023 have been rapidly increasing, with autonomous driving at 48.8%, artificial intelligence at 39%, and big data at 17.7%.
On the other hand, previously, trademark examinations were conducted according to the traditional industrial sectors based on the International Classification of Goods and Services, which made it difficult to actively respond to the increase in trademark applications in advanced convergence industries and new industry sectors.
In response, KIPO plans to shorten the period for domestic companies to acquire trademark rights by establishing the New Industry Trademark Examination Division dedicated to trademark applications in these fields, and to enhance the consistency and quality of examinations through proactive administration such as strengthening on-site examinations.
Gu Young-min, Director of the Trademark Examination Policy Bureau at KIPO, said, “The New Industry Trademark Examination Division was established to actively respond to the increasingly sophisticated and segmented new industry trademark applications and to shorten the period for acquiring rights through dedicated examinations. KIPO will continue to make efforts to ensure that fast and accurate examinations are conducted in advanced industrial fields where companies need them.”
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