KIPO and Korea Customs Service sign an MOU for the protection of IPRs
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO, Commissioner Kim, Young-min) and the Korea Customs Service (Commissioner Baek, Un-chan) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on June 17 (Monday) in Daejeon Government Complex to build a mutually cooperative system, in order to actively tackle the import and export of goods which infringe intellectual property rights (IPRs) and protect IPRs in Korea.
KIPO has been responsible for a crackdown on IPR infringements in Korea while the Korea Customs Service has also led a crackdown on counterfeit goods passing through customs.
KIPO operated a special judicial police squad on trademark infringements from September 2012 to May this year, during which time, it charged 647 infringers and confiscated about 290,000 items. Last year the Korea Customs Service uncovered counterfeit IPRs worth an estimated KRW 930 billion.
Despite the achievements of these crackdowns, IPR infringement issues are becoming increasingly global. This July marks the second year of the Republic of Korea-European Union Free Trade Agreement (ROK-EU FTA) coming into effect and the items subject to IPR protection when passing through Korean customs will expand from trademarks and copyrights to include patents and design rights, all of which is a sign of the rapidly changing IPR protection environment.
The Korea Customs Service is fully responsible for imported and exported goods passing through national borders while KIPO possesses expert man power in IPRs. It is therefore a moment for both organizations to forge an active system of cooperation.
Once cooperation is underway between the two organizations, KIPO examiners and trial examiners will work alongside the Korea Customs Service to determine whether imported and exported goods passing through customs infringe on patent and design rights, for the precise and timely rescue of IPRs.
In addition, the system is expected to minimize the damage to consumers caused by counterfeit goods by providing countermeasures and quick checks to judge the authenticity of declarations. There will also be an active response against corrupt businesses falsely selling counterfeit goods as genuine by openly presenting counterfeit import report certificates on online shopping malls, which have seen an increase in use over recent years.
In future, both organizations plan to link their work actively to enhance the effectiveness of IPR protection while continuing to develop a cooperation system for mutual coexistence that reduces barriers between the departments.
[Reference] KIPO News (June 26, 2013)
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