According to South Korea’s patent office, there have been numerous instances of Korean trademarks being claimed without authorization in China and Southeast Asia in order to take advantage of Korean enterprises’ outstanding image.
From 2019 to 2022, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) examined 15,692 trademark filings in China and Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia). They discovered significant losses in five key industries: cosmetics, electrical equipment, clothes, franchising, and food.
The majority of these instances (69.5 percent) concerned unlawful preemption of trademarks identical to Korean ones in the same sector.
However, in China, a considerable proportion of instances (27.4%) involved the use of the same or similar trademarks in other sectors.
KIPO highlighted that Korean trademarks have high awareness and trust, which implies that even in unrelated industries, utilizing similar trademarks can benefit from the favorable reputation and high-quality image associated with Korean companies.
When it comes to trademark infringement, the majority of instances (more than 70%) concern English versions of the trademarks.
Surprisingly, trademark infringements that incorporated the Korean alphabet (hangul) made for a large percentage, accounting for more than 25%.
Hangul is regarded as a visual element in China and Southeast Asia, making it easier for unauthorized parties to evade suspicion of trademark infringement.
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