IP Implications of Chat GPT and Samsung’s Temporary Restrictions on Generative AI in Korea

Chat GPT by OpenAI has increased employee productivity and some employers have even incorporated it into their work systems for improved efficiency. However, Chat GPT brings up many legal issues that have not, yet, been litigated in courts. Chat GPT, an “artificial intelligence” (AI) service developed by OpenAI, has gained widespread popularity for its remarkable ability to comprehend language patterns and structures. Many companies, including those in the legal industry, are considering leveraging Chat GPT for tasks that require human-like

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Trademarks Registration in Korea: Don’t Just Trust Us

Our friends over at the China Law Blog have posted on an intellectual property issue that leads to a good deal of work for the IP Litigation Practice at the Korean office of IPG Legal. If you don’t want the added cost of litigating a matter in a Korean court, please register your trademark in Korea. Registering in the U.S. and the E.U. is not enough. Your “international filing” only gives you a grace period to file in other nations

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Korean Trademark Act Amendments for 2022

Recent Amendments to the Korean Trademark Act were passed by the National Assembly of Korea. On February 3, 2022, the National Assembly published the Korean Trademark Act revisions. One major revision was the expansion of the meaning of “use of a trademark.” The revision should make the application process easier for applicants and expand the rights of those granted a trademark. IPG Legal welcomes these changes. Another article that may be of interest to the reader includes: Korean Intellectual Protection

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Protecting your Intellectual Property Rights in Korea: Avoid “Trying Different Things & Smoking Funny Things”

A popular song regularly played on the radio proclaims that in the summer of 1989 the songwriter, Kid Rock, was “trying different things and smoking funny things.” If you have any exposure to the Korean market, do your business a favor and don’t be like the songwriter. All businesses with any exposure to the Korean market must have a plan in place to protect their intellectual property in Korea. Thus, for the sake of your company, at a bare minimum,

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Protecting Trade Secrets in Korea: Top 5 Things to Know Before Subjecting your Business Secrets to the Korean Market

We receive emails, regularly, requesting advice on the protection of IP rights in Korea and China. Most of the issues I addressed in this blog come from these questions. I realized, after writing over 1000 posts on this blog, that I never drafted a post on trade secrets. So here we go.   Definition of a Trade Secret in KoreaAs you probably know, a trade secret is, simply any design, process, formula or the like that is not known or readily

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Rights Management Services/Agencies in South Korea: Copyright/IP Licensing Societies in Korea

The following is a list of the major Copyright Management/Licensing Services in Korea.  The list shall be updated periodically. Rights Management Societies in Korea Literary  Korean Society of Authors Music Korea Music Copyright Association Korean Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers Theater  Korea Scenario Writers Association General Reproduction & Transmission Korea Reproduction and Transmission Rights Association Theatrical Reproduction & Transmission Korea Film Producers Association Broadcast Writers Korea TV & Radio Writers Association Performers in Musicals Federation of Korea Music Performers

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Korean IP Infringement Jurisdiction Centralized at Five Korean District Courts and the Patent Court of Korea: Korean Intellectual Property Case Updates

Patent Infringement Case Jurisdiction in Korea This month, the Korean National Assembly passed amendments to both the Korean Court Organization Act and the Civil Procedure Act to, inter alia, give exclusive jurisdiction, in Intellectual Property infringement matters, to five major district courts in Korea with an appeal from these five district courts going, now, to the Patent Court. At present, an IP infringement case may be brought at any district court with an appeal to a high court.  Appeals of

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Enforcing your Trademark Rights in Korea: IP Protection Strategies for Korea

Please register all of your trademarks and other intellectual property in Korea. Yes, your “international filing” is not good enough. You must, before engaging in any additional consideration of doing business in Korea register your IP in Korea. Don’t even read further. Contact us and we will happily advise a good patent/trademark agent to utilize.  No need to get a law firm to do this for you – the agents are, typically, adequate for most non-complex filings. After registering all

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Korean Business/Service Marks Protection under the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act

Supreme Court Decision 2008Do5897 delivered on January 30, 2009 【Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act】 Translation of Official Court Summary  The appearance of a particular singer and the unique actions of others are intangible and variable features close to an impression or image have little function as a fixed mark that differentiates a matter from another matter. If the particular appearance and action is to be regarded as a mark of a business and if

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Quantifying the Value of Intellectual Assets

The Maeil Business News reported on the OECD Plenary session on Intellectual Assets and Value Creation on March 6, 2007. One of the interesting things coming out of the session is that: 40 percent of American firms’ valuation was in intellectual property during the 1980’s, whereas 70 percent of American firms’ value is in intellectual property these days, a total of $5 trillion. Richard Johnson said that innovation can be viewed differently, as its quantifiable value may be bought, sold,

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