Court: Chongkundang Health's 'Aiker' is a Similar Trademark to Jeonggwanjang's 'Aikicker'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The court has ruled that Jongkundang Health's leading children's health functional food brand ‘Iker’ is a trademark similar to Jeonggwanjang's children's red ginseng drink ‘I-Kicker’.

The reason is that their pronunciations are similar and the associated concepts are alike, which could cause confusion among consumers.

According to the legal community on the 8th, the Patent Court Division 4 (Chief Judge Yoon Seong-sik) ruled against the plaintiff in the invalidation lawsuit filed by Jongkundang Health against Korea Ginseng Corporation on the 21st of last month.

The court stated, “The third syllable ‘Ki’ and the fourth syllable ‘Keo’ of the prior used trademark ‘I-Kicker’ both start with the aspirated consonant ‘k’. When pronounced quickly, ‘Ki’ is absorbed into ‘Keo’, making the overall pronunciation of the two trademarks sound similar.”

It added, “Moreover, both trademarks are perceived by consumers as indicating the growth in length of a child's body, so their concepts are identical or similar, which could cause misunderstanding or confusion about their source.”

Earlier, Korea Ginseng Corporation argued that “there is a problem with registering the trademark ‘Iker’, which is similar to the previously registered trademark ‘I-Kicker’,” and obtained a trademark registration invalidation decision from the Patent Tribunal.

In response, Jongkundang Health claimed, “The product labeling of Korea Ginseng Corporation was not used as is, and the shape was modified,” and filed a lawsuit with the court, but it was not accepted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.