The government will invest 25 billion won this year to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) by providing consulting for overseas intellectual property disputes faced by export companies and blocking the distribution of counterfeit goods abroad.
On the 27th, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced that it will implement the "2025 Overseas Intellectual Property Protection Support Project" with these objectives.
Status of Online Distribution of Counterfeit Goods Blocked Overseas Last Year. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office
First, KIPO will newly introduce the "Export-Challenging Companies' IPR Risk Response Capacity Enhancement Project" this year, selecting about 100 companies preparing to enter overseas markets. It will provide comprehensive strategy consulting to preemptively diagnose and resolve potential IPR dispute risks that may arise during the export process.
The support targets are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies that had no export performance last year or exported less than $100,000, and that have received government export channel support such as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s "Domestic Companies Export Commercialization Project."
An "Overseas Online Counterfeit Goods Distribution Blocking Support Project" utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology will also be promoted. This project focuses on expanding the number of specialized counterfeit blocking companies, POOL, from the existing seven to eight or more, thereby broadening the selection options for supported companies and increasing the blocking rate. Through this, KIPO plans to block the distribution of approximately 200,000 online counterfeit goods this year.
Through the "K-Brand Dispute Response Strategy Support Project," KIPO will address issues such as overseas counterfeit goods distribution and unauthorized trademark squatting, which are dispute response issues for domestic companies. By linking with support projects from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, it will also focus on helping overseas expansion companies acquire essential rights, thereby protecting small brands listed in small and medium-sized specialized malls.
Additionally, KIPO plans to support patent dispute responses for about 250 companies this year through the "Patent Dispute Response Strategy Support Project." In particular, companies in the materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) and national strategic technology sectors will receive up to 5 additional points in the selection evaluation. Furthermore, if SoBuJang companies are required to provide patent guarantees during the supply process or if actual patent disputes arise and patent guarantees are executed, KIPO plans to provide support of up to 100 million won through expedited procedures.
A patent guarantee is a contractual clause that assures a specific product or technology does not infringe on others' patents. If patent issues arise with the product, the company must bear all responsibilities, including supply suspension and damage compensation.
For more detailed information about the support projects, please refer to the project announcements posted on the Intellectual Property Protection Comprehensive Portal and the Intellectual Property Dispute Response Center websites.
Shin Sang-gon, Director of the Industrial Property Protection Cooperation Bureau at KIPO, stated, "With the intensification of protectionism and technological hegemony competition, global economic uncertainty is also increasing. Above all, IPR disputes can become a stumbling block for domestic export companies. Therefore, KIPO plans to strengthen intellectual property protection overseas so that companies can successfully enter foreign markets."
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