Previously reported amendments to the Korean Trademark Act, including a shorter opposition period and increased punitive damages for willful trademark infringement, will come into effect from 22 July 2025. Given the impact this could have on decision-making processes, brand owners and agents who deal with Korea as part of their practice are advised to take careful note. Further details below.
▒ SHORTER OPPOSITION PERIOD (2 months → 30 days)
[Applies to applications published after the amendment comes into effect]
The current deadline for filing an opposition is 2 months from the publication date of the application, but this will be reduced to just 30 days.
The opposition deadline itself cannot be extended. However, per existing practice, it will still be possible to file a formal notice of opposition to meet the deadline, and substantiate the grounds for opposition via submission of a supplemental brief within a further 30 days. (The later submission deadline for the supplemental brief can usually be extended for up to 60 days for national applications, but not for Madrid applications.)
The change is part of KIPO’s efforts to reduce the timeframe for trademark applications achieving registration. While good news for applicants, who can expect their applications to register slightly quicker than before, any party who may wish to oppose the registration of a trademark application will have less time to make such a decision, so watch service notifications and the like will need to be reviewed and acted on more urgently.
▒ INCREASED PUNITIVE DAMAGES (3x → 5x)
[Applies to acts of infringement which occur after the amendment comes into effect]
The current Trademark Act allows for up to 3x damages in cases of willful/intentional acts of infringement. This will increase to up to 5x punitive damages.
The increase to quintuple damages aims to further discourage willful/intentional violations of trademark rights through higher financial consequences, as well as offer more reasonable compensation for trademark owners who may have difficulty precisely quantifying the actual damages that have been incurred.