Korea Trademark Third-Party Information Submission
| Point | Rule |
|---|---|
| Who | Any person (Article 49 of the Trademark Act). |
| Target | A trademark for which a trademark application has been filed (Article 49). |
| Content | Information that the trademark cannot be registered because it falls under any item of Article 54, together with evidence (Article 49). |
| Submit to | The head of the Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP) or the President of the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (Article 49). |
| Period | Article 49 itself states no period (Article 49). |
| Decision | The examiner is required to decide to refuse registration if the application falls under any item of Article 54. If that applies to part of the designated goods and services, the refusal covers those designated goods and services alone (Article 54 of the Trademark Act). |
Information submission in Korea
For a third-party observation on a Korean trademark application, the Trademark Act provides information submission. Any person may provide information that the applied-for trademark falls under an item of Article 54 and so cannot be registered (Article 49).
The information is provided together with evidence, to the head of MOIP or the President of the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (Article 49).
Grounds that can be raised
- The Article 2(1) definition of a trademark, collective mark, geographical indication, geographical indication collective mark, certification mark, geographical indication certification mark or business emblem is not met (Article 54, item 1).
- The application violates a treaty (Article 54, item 2).
- Registration is not available under the provisions listed in item 3, which include Articles 33 to 35 (Article 54, item 3).
- The applicant is not a person who can obtain registration of a collective mark, certification mark or business emblem under Article 3 (Article 54, item 4).
- In a geographical indication collective mark application, the articles of association prohibit joining the organization, set joining conditions that are difficult to meet, or otherwise do not allow joining in substance (Article 54, item 5).
- The articles of association under Article 36(3) omit all or part of the matters on use of the collective mark set by Presidential Decree, or the articles of association or rules under Article 36(4) omit all or part of the matters on use of the certification mark set by Presidential Decree (Article 54, item 6).
- In a certification mark application, the articles of association or rules, without justifiable grounds, do not permit a person who may use the certification mark to use it, set conditions of use that are difficult to meet, or otherwise do not permit use in substance (Article 54, item 7).
Points Article 49 does not state
Article 49 itself sets no submission period, and it does not state that a submission results in refusal (Article 49). The refusal decision is made by the examiner (Article 54).
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Based on the Korean Trademark Act as in force on 2025-11-11. Written by Youngbong Yoo, Korean patent attorney (ESUNG IP&LAW FIRM).
This page is general information about the Korean system, not legal advice on a specific matter.