Seoul Patent Office Chemical and Biological Examination Bureau Director Appointed as New Patent Tribunal President

Seo Eulsu, Director of the Chemical and Life Sciences Examination Bureau at the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) (age 56, photo), has been promoted and appointed as the new Commissioner of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

According to KIPO on the 28th, Commissioner Seo began his public service career at KIPO in 1997 (28th Technical Examination) and has held various positions including Director of International Cooperation, Director of Industrial Property Protection Policy, Senior Examiner of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Head of the Patent Examination Cooperation Team at the UAE Ministry of Economy, Director of the Digital Convergence Examination Bureau, and Director of the Chemical and Life Sciences Examination Bureau.

Commissioner Seo is recognized as an international cooperation expert in the field of intellectual property rights. He led the introduction of Korean-style intellectual property services to the UAE for the first time and played a key role in exporting the PCT international search service to Saudi Arabia. He also contributed to the domestic adoption of the advanced patent classification system (CPC), led by the US and Europe.

Additionally, he is credited with expanding KIPO’s intellectual property policy scope through achievements such as establishing an information portal on patent dispute trends in the creation and protection of intellectual property rights, implementing future patent dispute response strategy scenarios, and setting patent examination standards in the field of 4th industrial revolution convergence technologies.

Commissioner Seo is also regarded as a rational leader, ranking first as the ‘most desirable manager to work with.’