KOR-EU Patent Offices Include 'Policy' in Intellectual Property Cooperation Areas

The scope of intellectual property cooperation between Korea and the European Union (EU) will be expanded from the existing examination and trial of trademarks and designs to include policy areas.

On the 3rd (local time), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced that Commissioner Kim Wanki met with Joao Negr?o, President of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), at the EUIPO headquarters located in Alicante, Spain, and agreed on this matter.

Kim Wanki, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (left), is taking a commemorative photo after holding talks with Joao Negr?o, President of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), on the 3rd. Photo by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

At the meeting between the heads of the two patent offices, both sides agreed that the Korea-EU intellectual property cooperation project launched in July last year, the Intellectual Property (IP) Action, is an effective cooperation measure to encourage innovation in both countries and harmoniously develop the intellectual property system.

They also discussed detailed implementation plans and agreed to expand the scope of future cooperation.

Accordingly, the two patent offices plan to continue broad cooperation based on the IP Action in areas such as intellectual property laws and systems, support policies for small and medium-sized enterprises, IP finance, and prevention of counterfeit goods.

In particular, they agreed to strengthen collaboration by sharing policy experiences and know-how related to blocking and preventing the distribution of counterfeit goods on platforms, which is one of the detailed tasks of the IP Action.

Considering that the previously signed comprehensive cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) will expire in October this year, the heads of the two patent offices decided to renew the comprehensive cooperation MOU in the second half of this year, reflecting detailed cooperation contents including the IP Action.

Commissioner Kim Wanki stated, “The importance and role of intellectual property are expected to grow further in the new trade environment,” adding, “The Korean Intellectual Property Office will strengthen Korea-EU intellectual property cooperation to establish a foundation for securing and protecting the intellectual property rights of domestic companies entering Europe.”

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