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Amendments to Trademark Laws

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Aug 30, 2016 (Newsletter Issue 15/16)
South Korea
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Major Amendments to Trademark Act


The National Assembly has approved a major amendment to the Korean Trademark Act ("Act"), which will go into effect on September 1, 2016. This is the first comprehensive amendment to the Act in 26 years.

Important changes have been highlighted below:
- Legal standing no longer required to file non-use cancellation actions
- Delayed evaluation of similarity to senior marks
- Elimination of one year bar against registering marks similar to expunged marks
- Expanded restrictions against applications filed by agents
- Limitations on trademark rights clarified
- "Electronic use" of trademarks acknowledged as one of the recognised types of use.
- Confirmation of scope trials can be filed for a subset of designated goods
- Broader grounds for rejection of certification marks

For further information, please see the article of the law firm Kim & Chang here

Source: Kim & Chang, South Korea