South Korea Joins Trademarks G4

by Mary Swire, LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

13 June 2011

South Korea will become a full member of the Trilateral Co-operation between the trademark offices of the United States, Europe and Japan, during their next conference later this year.

The Trilateral Co-operation was set up in 1983 between the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The majority of all patent applications filed worldwide, including patent co-operation treaty applications, are processed by the trilateral offices.

Their co-operation is aimed at improving the quality of examination processes and reducing the processing time of patent applications; developing common infrastructure and compatible data for electronic business systems and search tools; solving common problems related to the protection of industrial property rights; and harmonizing practices of the three offices.

With the third-highest number of trademark applications in the world after China and the US, South Korea will now join a G4 trademark cooperation, to play a leading role in the development of international trademark norms and standards. It has participated as an observer in previous trilateral meetings since 2009.

As a full member, the Korean Intellectual Property Office will be able to pursue the mutual recognition of a common list of products, the building of a common database of registered trademarks, the electronic exchange of documents claiming right of priority, and the launch of cooperative projects to develop common statistical indexes.

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