Staking Claims
The number of trademark applications in Korea by Chinese companies is rising ahead of the implementation of the Korea-China FTA. According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the number more than doubled from 1,246 to 2,622 between 2010 and last year.
During the last five years, China accounted for 9.3 percent of the total trademark applications in Korea by non-Korean companies, to be second only to the United States and Japan. In addition, China has recorded an increase in the number all the way since 2012, unlike Japan, and had 1,126 trademarks registered during the first four months of this year to outnumber Japan by a margin of 111.
Significant Chinese trademark application divisions in Korea are 1,894 for electronic equipment and gaming content, 1,663 for apparel and shoes, 874 for cosmetics.
The rapid increase is mainly because of the enhancement of the protection of game and software copyrights dating back to the beginning of the FTA talks in 2010 and Chinese companies’ concentration on the Korean market in marketing amid the increasing popularity of Korean pop culture.
“When a Chinese company files a trademark application in Korea first and then files a Madrid international application within six months, the date of the former application is regarded as the date of application in China,” the KIPO explained.