"Preventing a Second Deopjuk Incident"... Significant Impact of Intellectual Property Support for Small Business Owners

The intellectual property (IP) capacity-building project for small business owners is proving highly effective in preventing a 'second Deopjuk incident.' The Deopjuk incident refers to a series of controversies that arose when a Deopjuk restaurant in Pohang gained recognition through the TV program 'Baek Jong-won's Alley Restaurant,' only for franchise companies to preemptively register similar trademarks.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on the 12th, the 'Small Business Owners Intellectual Property Capacity-Building Project' has been implemented since 2022 to support small business owners and traditional markets in securing trademark rights.

As of August this year, the number of supported cases has exceeded 10,000 cumulatively. KIPO supported small business owners and traditional markets in securing intellectual property rights with 3,759 cases in 2022 (total budget 2.632 billion KRW), 4,290 cases last year (3.442 billion KRW), and 2,542 cases from January to August this year (4.292 billion KRW).

Last year, KIPO promoted several initiatives: the 'Intellectual Property Application Support Project' (3,887 cases), which supports applications for trademarks and patents such as business names and recipes owned by small business owners; the 'Comprehensive Intellectual Property Creation Package Support Project' (180 cases), which supports the integrated development of trademarks and designs reflecting markets, products, and characteristics, as well as their applications; and the 'Traditional Market Joint Trademark Development Support Project' (223 cases), which helps develop and apply for joint trademarks and characters reflecting the unique features of traditional markets and alleyway commercial districts.

Trademark image of Daejeon Taepyeong Market filed through the "Traditional Market and Alley Commercial District Joint Trademark Development Support Project." Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

In the case of Daejeon Taepyeong Traditional Market, through the Traditional Market and Alleyway Commercial District Joint Trademark Development Support Project, a new trademark called 'Taepyeong Daejeon' was developed along with character trademarks and packaging designs featuring a bear, sloth, and turtle that evoke the local image of slowness, and trademark and design applications were filed.

In Incheon, where the trademark 'Songdo Eomeong' was difficult to register as it was already registered under someone else's name, the KIPO's Comprehensive Intellectual Property Creation Package Support Project helped devise a new trademark combined with a logo design and develop meal kit packaging designs suited to the product (gat kimchi stew) characteristics, successfully filing trademark and design applications.

Other notable success stories of the intellectual property capacity-building support project for small business owners include Sejong's 'Hangeul Bread,' Gwangju's 'Mulgogi Coffee Roasters,' Ulsan's 'Gopchang Kingdom,' Busan's 'Doldoljip,' and Seoul's 'Songane.'

The intellectual property developed and applied for through the project has been utilized as promotional and marketing tools both online and offline, leading to increased competitiveness for small business owners and traditional markets that now hold intellectual property rights. Lee Yong-su, president of the Taepyeong Traditional Market Merchants Association, expressed satisfaction with the project, saying, "The joint trademark and characters developed with the help of KIPO have received positive responses among local residents visiting the traditional market," and added, "The development of intellectual property has raised the satisfaction and morale of market merchants."

KIPO plans to continue the Small Business Owners Intellectual Property Capacity-Building Project next year as well. Kim Wan-gi, Commissioner of KIPO, stated, "Traditional markets need to break away from the stereotype of being old and outdated by developing unique content that reflects the tradition, history, and culture of each region," and added, "KIPO will strive to establish a foundation for the continuous growth of alleyway commercial districts by supporting the development of joint trademarks and characters for each traditional market and the practical acquisition of intellectual property rights by small business owners."