December 11, 2020
The 8th TRIPO User Symposium
- KIPO, CNIPA and JPO introduce their recently revised IP laws -
ㅁ The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO; Commissioner Yong Rae Kim) hosted the 8th Trilateral IP Offices (TRIPO: KIPO, CNIPA and JPO) User Symposium via online streaming on December 1st at 10 am.
ㅇThe TRIPO User Symposium is an concurrent event of the TRIPO Heads Meeting annually held and is alternately hosted by each office of the TRIPO. This year, the TRIPO User Symposium was held in the morning of December 1st, and the TRIPO Heads Meeting was held in the afternoon on the same day.
- The agenda of this year’s User Symposium was "TRIPO IP laws revision status." An official working in the department responsible for the revision in each office gave the presentation on the subject, helpint the participants to better understand the implications and effects of the IP Law revisions.
ㅁ All three offices have recently revised their respective IP laws in the direction of strengthening IP protection or broadening the scope of IP protection. This year’s symposium was designed to inform the applicants from the three countries of these IP law revisions.
ㅇ A presenter from the KIPO introduced the new way of assessing the amount of damages for patent infringement in accordance with the amended Korean Patent Act, which will be effective on December 10, 2020. The presenter also explained punitive damages awards for infringement of patents and trade secrets (effective July 2019) and extended application of punitive damages awards to trademarks and designs (effective October 2020).
ㅇ A presenter from the CNIPA explained the Chinese patent system regarding drug and medicine that underwent a great change as a result of the fourth amendment of the Chinese Patent Law (effective June 2021). A presenter from the JPO presented the recently revised Japanese Design Act (effective April 2020).
ㅇ This year’s User Symposium is planned for live streaming in the three countries due to Covid-19 pandemic. Users can participate in the symposium through KIPO’s official YouTube channel or the official website of TRIPO User Symposium (www.tripo.kr). Korean, Chinese, and Japanese subtitles will also be provided for the convenience of users from the three countries.
ㅁ Director Yeon Woo Jeong of the Industrial Property Protection & International Cooperation Bureau of the KIPO, remarked “The three countries are in close relationships both culturally and economically, so it is crucial for applicants from the three countries to accurately understand IP systems and laws of each country and respond properly.” Director Jeong added, "The KIPO will continue to diligently provide up-to-date information helpful for IP users from the three countries in a timely manner."