KIPO Warns of Trademark Infringement in Commercial Use of Famous University 'Logo'

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Using the logo of a prestigious university as a source indication for products or services may constitute trademark infringement, so caution is required.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 31st, when producing or selling clothing, etc., bearing a university logo, permission from the relevant school corporation is necessary to avoid infringing trademark rights.

Many well-known domestic and international universities have registered trademarks related to education, hospitals, and souvenirs such as clothing and hats. Therefore, when producing or selling clothing bearing a university logo, permission from the relevant school corporation is required to prevent trademark infringement issues.

However, if the university logo is used simply to indicate that the person is a current student or alumnus of the university, it may not constitute trademark infringement.

This applies to cases where employees or executives affiliated with hospitals, academies, etc., use the school logo to indicate that they graduated from the university.

Mok Seong-ho, Director of the Trademark Design Examination Bureau at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, stated, “Recently, school corporations have increasingly used university logos on labels as part of profit-making activities,” adding, “When using university logos for commercial purposes, caution is necessary as trademark disputes with the school corporation may arise.”

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