If the product name is not recognized in trademark registration, the registration itself may be delayed or rejected, so applicants need to be cautious. For example, when a commonly used teaspoon is labeled as a chaspoon, it is necessary to consider whether it can be applied to the product for trademark registration.
On the 18th, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced that it will update and publicly disclose a list of similar product names eligible for trademark registration (chaspoon) in addition to the officially notified product names (teaspoon) to prevent such disadvantages caused by misdescription of product names before trademark registration.
When filing a trademark application, the applicant must specify in the application form which product the trademark will be used for. At this time, the applicant must enter a product name recognized under the Trademark Act (officially notified name or similar name). If the product name is not recognized, the applicant may suffer damage such as delay or rejection of trademark registration due to an error in the product name description.
The updated similar product names consist of a total of 831 names across 43 categories, reflecting revisions to the official notification and the latest market conditions. These are names that are not officially notified product names but have been newly updated as names deemed acceptable by examiners.
For example, previously only officially notified names such as teaspoon and insect collection box were recognized. However, with the update of similar product names, trademark registration (recognition) will now be possible with similar names such as ‘chaspoon’ and ‘insect catcher’.
The list of similar product names was first disclosed in October last year. Since then, it has been viewed hundreds of times per month on average, and in July alone, the number of views exceeded 1,200. This indicates an increase in individual applicants searching the list of similar product names. Supporting this, KIPO plans to update the service annually to reflect changes.
The list of recognized product names can be checked on the KIPO website or KIPRIS.
Nam Young-taek, Head of the Trademark Examination Policy Division at KIPO, said, “KIPO will continue to discover and promote applicant-centered convenience policies to prevent applicants from suffering disadvantages (causes for rejection) from the trademark application stage,” adding, “We hope that disclosing the recognized similar product names will lead to faster acquisition of trademark rights for applicants.”
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