CI

Grounds of Infringement

• Article 108 of the Trademark Act (Acts Deemed Infringement)
  1. (1) The following shall be deemed infringement of trademark rights (excluding the right to collective mark with geographical indication) or an exclusive license:
     1. 1. Using a trademark identical to a registered trademark of another person on goods similar to the designated goods, or using a trademark similar to the registered trademark of another person on goods identical or similar to the designated goods;
     2. 2. Delivering, selling, forging, imitating, or possessing a trademark identical or similar to a registered trademark of another person for the purpose of using or causing a third party to use such trademark on goods identical or similar to the designated goods;
     3. 3. Manufacturing, delivering, selling or possessing equipment for the purpose of forging or imitating a registered trademark of another person or causing a third party to forge or imitate such registered trademark;
     4. 4. Possessing goods identical or similar to the designated goods bearing a registered trademark of another person or any other similar trademark for the purpose of transferring or delivering such goods.
  2. (2) The following shall be deemed infringement of the right to a collective mark with geographical indication:
     1. 1. Using a trademark (excluding a homonymous geographical indication; hereafter in this paragraph, the same shall apply) similar to a registered collective mark with geographical indication of another person on goods deemed identical to the designated goods;
     2. 2. Delivering, selling, forging, imitating or possessing a trademark identical or similar to the registered collective mark with geographical indication of another person for the purpose of using or causing a third party to use such trademark on goods deemed identical to the designated goods;
     3. 3. Manufacturing, delivering, selling or possessing equipment for the purpose of forging or imitating, or causing a third person to forge or imitate the registered collective mark with geographical indication of another person;
     4. 4. Possessing goods deemed identical to designated goods bearing a trademark identical or similar to the registered collective mark with geographical indication for the purpose of transferring or delivering such goods.
• Article 2 (1) of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act (Act of Unfair Competition)

  Article 2 (Definitions) The terms used in this Act shall be defined as follows:
  <Amended by Act No. 11112, Dec 2, 2011; Act No. 11963, Jul 30, 2013; Act No. 13081, Jan 28, 2015>
  The term "act of unfair competition" means any of the following acts:

  1. (a) An act of causing confusion with another person's goods by using marks identical or similar to, another person's name, trade name, trademark, or container or package of goods, or any other mark indicating another person's goods, which is widely known in the Republic of Korea; or by selling, distributing, importing, or exporting goods bearing such marks;
  2. (b) An act of causing confusion with another person's commercial facilities or activities by using marks identical or similar to, another person's name, trade name, or emblem, or any other mark indicating another person's business (including methods of selling products and offering services or overall appearance of a business place such as signs, exterior, and interior decorations), which is widely known in the Republic of Korea;
  3. (c) In addition to the act of causing confusion prescribed in item (a) or (b); an act of doing damage to distinctiveness or reputation attached to another person's mark by using the mark identical or similar to, another person's name, trade name, trademark, or container or package of goods, or any other mark indicating another person's goods or business which is widely known in the Republic of Korea; or by selling, distributing, importing, or exporting goods bearing such marks; without good cause prescribed by Presidential Decree, such as the purpose of noncommercial use;
  4. (d) An act of causing confusion about the place of origin by making false marks of the place of origin on goods, or on trade documents or in communications by means of advertisements of the goods or in a manner that makes the public aware of the marks; or by selling, distributing, importing, or exporting goods bearing such marks;
  5. (e) An act of making a mark that would mislead the public into believing that goods are produced, manufactured, or processed at places, other than the actual places of production, manufacture, or processing, on goods, or on trade documents or in communications by means of advertisements of the goods or in a manner that makes the public aware of the mark; or selling, distributing, importing, or exporting goods bearing such mark;
  6. (f) An act of falsely assuming another person's goods or an act of advertising any goods or making a mark in any manner of leading the public to misunderstand their quality, content, manufacturing process, usage, or quantity, in the goods or advertisement thereof, or selling, distributing, importing, or exporting goods using such method or mark;
  7. (g) An act of using a trademark, without good cause, on goods identical or similar to the designated goods of the trademark, or an act of selling, distributing, exporting, or importing goods with such trademark, by an agent or a representative of the owner of the trademark that is identical or similar to a trademark registered in any of the following countries or by a person who was an agent or a representative within one year of the date of such act:
     1. (i) Any party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (hereinafter referred to as the "Paris Convention");
     2. (ii) Any member state of the World Trade Organization;
     3. (iii) Any signatory state of the Trademark Law Treaty;
  8. (h) An act of registering, holding, transferring, or using a domain name identical or similar to, another person's name, trade name, or trademark, or any other mark, which is widely known in the Republic of Korea, by a person who does not have a legitimate title for any of the following purposes:
     1. (i) The purpose of selling or lending a mark, including a trademark, to a person who has a legitimate title concerning the mark or a third party;
     2. (ii) The purpose of preventing a person who has a legitimate title from registering or using a domain name;
     3. (iii) Other purpose of obtaining any commercial profits;
  9. (i) An act of transferring or lending goods whose shape has been copied (referring to the form, image, color, gloss, or any combination thereof, including the shape of any prototype and the shape in goods brochure; hereinafter the same shall apply) from the goods manufactured by any other person; exhibiting such goods for transfer or lending; or importing or exporting such goods: Provided, That either of the following acts shall be excluded herefrom:
     1. (i) An act of transferring or lending goods whose shape has been manufactured by counterfeiting the shape of the other goods for which three years have elapsed from the date the shape of the other goods, including the production of the prototype, was completed; exhibiting such goods for transfer or lending; or importing or exporting such goods;
     2. (ii) An act of transferring or lending goods whose shape has been manufactured by counterfeiting the common shape of goods that are identical to the goods manufactured by any other person (where the goods of the same kind are nonexistent, referring to other goods whose function or utility is identical or similar to the relevant goods); exhibiting such goods for transfer or lending; or importing or exporting such goods;
  10. (j) Any other acts of infringing on other persons’ economic interests by using the outcomes, etc. achieved by them through substantial investment or efforts, for one’s own business without permission, in a manner contrary to fair commercial practices or competition order;

  The term “domain name” means a number, a letter, or a sign, or any combination thereof, which constituents an Internet address composed of numbers. [This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 8767, Dec 21, 2007]

Grounds for Sanctions

• Article 107 of the Trademark Act (Right to Seek Injunction against Infringement)
  1. (1) A trademark right holder or an exclusive licensee may seek an injunction requesting the prohibition or prevention of infringement against a person who infringes or is likely to infringe on his or her right.
  2. (2) Where a trademark right holder or an exclusive licensee makes a request under paragraph (1), he or she may request the destruction of infringing goods, the removal of facilities provided for infringement, or other necessary measures.
  3. (3) Where a lawsuit requesting the prohibition or prevention of infringement under paragraph (1) is brought, the court may provisionally order an injunction on infringement, confiscation of goods, etc. used for infringement, or other necessary measures at the request of the plaintiff or complainant (limited to where a case is prosecuted pursuant to this Act). In such cases, the court may require the plaintiff or complainant to provide security.
• Article 4 of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act (Right to Request Prohibition of Acts of Unfair Competition)
  1. (1) A person whose business interest is injured or threatened by an act of unfair competition or a violation of Article 3-2 (1) or (2) may file a request, with the court, for prohibition or prevention against any person who conducts or intends to conduct an act of unfair competition or a violation of Article 3-2 (1) or (2). <Amended by Act No. 10810, Jun. 30, 2011>
  2. (2) When a person files a request under paragraph (1), he/she may also request the following measures: <Amended by Act No. 10810, Jun. 30, 2011>
     • 1. Destruction of the goods that promote an act of unfair competition or a violation of Article 3-2 (1) or (2);
     • 2. Removal of the facilities used during an act of unfair competition or a violation of Article 3-2 (1) or (2);
     • 3. Cancellation of registration of the domain name which is the object of an act of unfair competition or a violation of Article 3-2 (1) or (2);
     • 4. Any other measures necessary to prohibit or prevent an act of unfair competition or a violation of Article 3-2 (1) or (2).

Penalty Provisions

• Article 230 of the Trademark Act (Crime of Infringement)

  Any person who infringes trademark rights or a exclusive license shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than seven years or by a fine not exceeding 100 million won.

• Subparagraph1 of Article 18 (3) of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act
  1. (3) Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won: <Amended by Act No. 11963, Jul. 30, 2013; Act No. 14530, Jan. 17, 2017>
     1. A person who has engaged in an act of unfair competition under subparagraph 1 of Article 2 (excluding items (h) and (j));
     2. A person who has used as a trademark a symbol that is identical or similar to any of the following insignias or marks in violation of Article 3:
     1. (a) The national flag, national emblem, or other insignias of a party to the Paris Convention, a member state of the World Trade Organization, or a signatory state of the Trademark Law Treaty;
     2. (b) The mark of an international organization;
     3. (c) The mark of inspection or certification of a party to the Paris Convention, a member state of the World Trade Organization, or a signatory state of the trademark Law Treaty.