Patent Trial 'Court-Appointed Attorney' Established On-Site... "89% of Appointments Are Small and Medium Enterprises"

The system of court-appointed patent trial agents is gradually establishing itself in the field.

According to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 3rd, the court-appointed agent system was introduced in 2019. Since then, the cumulative number of cases in which court-appointed agents were appointed in patent trials has reached 161 as of last year. The number of appointments by year showed fluctuations as follows: 11 cases in 2019, 21 in 2020, 23 in 2021, 40 in 2022, 32 in 2023, and 34 in 2024.

Patent trials are special administrative trials held to resolve disputes arising within the scope of industrial property rights such as patents, utility models, trademarks, and designs, including their creation, modification, and extinction.

The court-appointed agent system in patent trials was introduced and operates with the purpose of protecting the rights and interests of socially and economically disadvantaged parties. By supporting the appointment of court-appointed agents (patent attorneys) for parties without representatives, the system aims to prevent socially and economically disadvantaged individuals from being exposed to unfair harm.

In fact, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered the primary beneficiaries of the court-appointed agent system in patent trials. Among all cases where court-appointed agents were appointed, 143 cases (140 small enterprises and 3 medium enterprises) involved SMEs, accounting for 88.9% of the total.

This indicates that the court-appointed agent system serves as a reliable supporter for small-scale companies that find it difficult to actively engage in patent trials due to economic reasons and other factors.

The number of court-appointed agent appointments for these companies was highest in the trademark field with 100 cases (62.1%), followed by 32 cases (19.9%) in patents and utility models, and 29 cases (18.0%) in designs.

By type of trial, the use of court-appointed agents was most frequent in scope of rights confirmation trials with 67 cases (41.6%), invalidation trials with 46 cases (28.6%), and trademark cancellation trials with 41 cases (25.5%).

On the other hand, the use of court-appointed agents was relatively low in appeal trials against rejection decisions (6 cases, 3.7%). This is interpreted as reflecting that SMEs, who are subject to rights enforcement, mainly use the court-appointed agent system for defensive purposes.

Among the 161 cases where court-appointed agents were appointed, 120 cases were concluded as of last year, with a winning rate of 51.3% (excluding cases of withdrawal, dismissal, or resignation of court-appointed agents).

The winning rate of cases with court-appointed agents was found to be higher than that of parties who proceeded without agents during the same period (the winning rate of respondents with agents was 22.8%, and that of claimants was 42.3%). In a satisfaction survey conducted after the conclusion of patent trials, users expressed a satisfaction score of 84.4 points.

Seo Eul-su, President of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, stated, “Since its introduction, the court-appointed patent trial agent system has been evaluated as a strong support pillar for socially and economically disadvantaged parties, especially SMEs struggling with intellectual property disputes. We will continue to strive to ensure that the court-appointed agent system remains a reliable ally for those who need assistance during the trial process.”