Patent Office: "Impersonation of Celebrity Accounts Violates Trademark Law and Is Subject to Punishment"

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] #Individual investor Mr. A recently received investment solicitations through a KakaoTalk account impersonating stock market expert Mr. B. During the solicitation process, Mr. A sensed something suspicious and stopped the conversation. Upon investigation, it was revealed that more than five KakaoTalk accounts impersonating Mr. B were being operated.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on the 5th, impersonating celebrities’ social network service (SNS) accounts such as Instagram and KakaoTalk may constitute violations of the “Act on the Prevention of Unfair Competition and Protection of Trade Secrets” (hereinafter referred to as the Unfair Competition Prevention Act) and the “Trademark Act.”

Unfair competition acts include conducting business activities by deceiving others through accounts (confusion of business entities) and using account names composed of famous individuals’ real names or stage names (infringement of publicity rights).

Confusion of business entities refers to using a name, trade name, mark, or other sign identical or similar to another person’s widely recognized name or mark in Korea, which indicates another person’s business, causing confusion with another person’s business facilities or activities.

Infringement of publicity rights involves unauthorized use of a widely recognized and economically valuable identifier such as another person’s name in Korea for one’s own business in a manner contrary to fair trade and competition order, causing economic damage to the other party.

When damages occur due to these acts, claims for injunctions against the violating acts, claims for damages caused by the violations, and claims for restoration of credit damaged by the violations can be pursued.

Additionally, administrative investigations can be requested from KIPO, and if the investigation confirms violations, corrective recommendations can be made.

If the impersonated account’s name is identical or similar to a registered trademark and the services provided are identical or similar, constituting trademark infringement, KIPO’s Special Judicial Police for Industrial Property may be requested to conduct an investigation.

Moon Sam-seop, Director of the Industrial Property Protection Cooperation Bureau at KIPO, stated, “New types of unfair competition and intellectual property infringement are emerging in the digital era. We will strive to regulate illegal acts based on relevant laws to maintain a sound trading order.”

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