[Valuable Intellectual Property] "We Will Catch K-Brand 'Jjaktung' Worldwide... Using AI"

Kim Yong-seon, Director of the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency
Online Distribution of Counterfeit and Imitation Products Detected
Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights Protection... Cooperation Between Agencies

Kim Yong-seon, President of the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency / Photo by Huh Young-han younghan@

The Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency under the Korean Intellectual Property Office plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) this year to protect K-brands across 100 countries overseas, focusing on online platforms. It is known that the domestic industrial damage caused by counterfeit K-brand products amounts to 22 trillion won annually.

Kim Yong-seon, head of the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency, recently told Asia Economy in an interview, "As the Korean Wave expands to China and Southeast Asia, counterfeit products imitating our companies' goods and content, i.e., K-brands, are increasing."

Kim explained that the domestic industrial damage caused by so-called 'K-brand fakes' reaches 22 trillion won annually, resulting in the loss of about 32,000 jobs.

Although the counterfeit problem is not new, the development of online distribution networks has caused counterfeit and imitation products to increase exponentially. Quoting an OECD report, Kim said, "The scale of counterfeit goods trade in the global market has been increasing every year, reaching $464 billion (541 trillion won) as of 2019, which is similar to the global semiconductor market size ($412.3 billion)."

To eradicate counterfeit products that pop up incessantly online like a 'whack-a-mole' game, they plan to actively utilize AI.

Kim said, "We have been operating a remote monitoring team to crack down manually, but we judged there were limits," adding, "We decided to collaborate with six private companies that possess excellent AI technology." He further explained, "By training AI on hidden marks, features, and product categories in trademarks, we can efficiently detect counterfeit goods."

The scope of online counterfeit product monitoring will also expand. While last year it was conducted in 8 countries and 19 platforms worldwide, this year it plans to cover 100 countries and 1,000 platforms. Last year, the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency deleted 206,000 counterfeit product postings domestically and 250,000 overseas, preventing a total economic damage of 4 trillion won.

Lee In-sil, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (second from the left), held an award ceremony for outstanding mediators of the Industrial Property Rights Dispute Mediation Committee at the KIPO Seoul Office on February 1st. This award was organized to encourage mediators who contributed to the development of the dispute mediation system and to boost their pride.
[Photo by Korean Intellectual Property Office]

The Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency supports Korean companies in reclaiming K-brands by providing response strategies such as objections and invalidation trials against unauthorized trademark preemptions.

Kim stated, "Since intellectual property protection is becoming a source of competitiveness for companies, interest and investment in brand protection and prevention of counterfeit product distribution are necessary."

He added, "It is important not only to detect counterfeit products but also to foster awareness and an environment where others' intellectual property is protected and used with proper compensation."

Raising the ranking of 'intellectual property protection' in the annual national competitiveness evaluation conducted by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland is also an urgent task. According to last year's survey of 63 countries, South Korea ranked 37th in intellectual property protection, lower than China at 36th.

This survey is used for multinational companies' investment location decisions, and the low ranking in intellectual property protection compared to other evaluation items is lowering South Korea's overall national competitiveness ranking. South Korea is the 4th largest country in patent applications worldwide and a member of the IP5, the five advanced intellectual property countries. However, these survey results indicate that the 'protection' aspect has been relatively neglected compared to intellectual property creation.

Kim emphasized, "We will actively implement the government's national agenda of 'strengthening intellectual property protection' and raise the level of intellectual property protection befitting our status as an IP5 country," adding, "To this end, we will closely cooperate with government ministries such as the Korean Intellectual Property Office and related organizations."

The first thing Kim did after taking office was to sign a business agreement with the Seoul Central District Court. This allows cases requiring intellectual property expertise filed at the court to be referred to the 'Industrial Property Dispute Mediation Committee.' The committee consists of about 60 dispute mediators who are lawyers and patent attorneys knowledgeable in technology and law in each field.

Resolving disputes early through the mediation committee can save time and costs spent on litigation and also help maintain business relationships through mutual agreement between parties. Kim urged, "Small and medium-sized enterprises and startups facing difficulties due to technology theft or intellectual property disputes should actively utilize the dispute mediation committee."

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