Cheonwoo SON - Kim & Chang

Bio

Attorney Cheonwoo Son of Kim & Chang specializes in intellectual property rights, trade secret & corporate information protection, and product liability (PL), as well as litigation and provision of legal advice on game, resort & entertainment.

Attorney Cheonwoo Son has been working at Daejeon, Cheongju District Court, Daejeon High Court Cheongju Division, and Patent Court as a Judge, Supreme Court of Korea as a Research Judge (Presiding Judge), and Chuncheon District Court as a Presiding Judge for 17 years before joining Kim & Chang in March 2022. Cheonwoo Son is recognized for his outstanding work capabilities in the relevant field based on his experience in handling cases involving IP rights, prevention of unfair competition, and trade secret protection during his tenure as a judge. In particular, Cheonwoo Son served as a General Research Judge at the Supreme Court of Korea (Intellectual Property division) from February 2019 to February 2021, during which he acquired extensive knowledge and experience in the flow and trend of Supreme Court precedents in this particular area.

Cheonwoo Son earned a master's degree in 2005 (majored in commercial law) from Seoul National University College of Law and a doctorate degree in 2022 (majored in intellectual property law). He also participated in the Commentary of Patent Law, Trademark Law, Design Protection Law, and the Explanatory Notes on In-Service Invention System as an author. From 2011 to 2013, he also wrote the Civil Execution Act, the Preservation Litigation Act, and the (Requirements) Civil Trial Practice while lecturing on Civil Trial Practice and Civil Execution Act as an adjunct faculty at the Law School of Chung-Buk National University. In addition, he published about 50 papers in a number of legal literature on various fields, including intellectual property rights, game copyrights, prevention of unfair competition, and protection of trade secrets. In recognition of his expertise, he was awarded the Grand Prize at the 2nd Korea Patent Attorney Association Outstanding Paper Contest in 2018 for a paper on trade secret. Meanwhile, Cheonwoo Son is a member of the Korean Patent Law Society, the Korea Association for Informedia Law, and the Korean Research Society of Design Law, and has been active in academic activities.

Moreover, Cheonwoo Son not only got invited to numerous lectures, including the IP Law Litigation Practice Judge Training (Judicial Research and Training Institute, 2014-2020), Patent Tribunal (2014), Judicial Informedia (IT and Judges), Judicial Research and Training (Judicial Research and Training Institute, 2020), Technical Examiner and Technical Advisor Training (Judicial Research and Training Institute, 2018-2020), Patent Training of the Seoul Bar Association, the Korean Bar Association, the Korea Intellectual Property Bar Association (2016-2020), the Seoul Central District Court's IP Rights Practice Research Society (2020), and the Patent Court's IP Litigation Practice Research Society (2020), but also presented at international academic conferences such as the 1st IP Court Conference of Korean Patent Court (2015) and the Waseda University Korea-Japan Symposium (2019).

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Profile

Experience

Legal Counsel, Korean Intellectual Property Office (2022-Present)

Member of Co-Prosperity Coordination Committee, Ministry of SMEs and Startups (2022.6.-Present)

Kim & Chang (2022-Present)

Presiding Judge, Chuncheon District Court (2021-2022)

Research Judge, the Supreme Court of Korea (Intellectual Property division) (2016-2021)

Judge, the Patent Court of Korea (2013-2016)

Judge, Daejeon District Court (2012-2013)

Law School of Chung-Buk National University, ("Civil Trial Practice”, “Civil Execution Act”) (2011-2013)

Judge, Daejeon High Court Cheongju Division (2010-2011)

Judge, Cheongju District Court (2009-2012)

Judge, Daejeon District Court (2006-2009)

Public Service Advocate (2003-2006)

Member, Blockchain Law Society (2022-Present)

Member, Korea Association for Infomedia Law (2021-Present)

Member, Design Law Research Society (2021-Present)

Member, Korea Patent Law Society (2015-Present)

Representative Activitiesshow

Awards

Grand Prize of Intellectual Property Paper (Korea Patent Attorney Association, 2018)

Publications/Activities

[Publication]

Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act (Co-author, Pakyoungsa, 2024)
The Patentability of Selection Invention (Pakyoungsa, 2022)
Onju Patent Law (Co-author, LawnB, 2018)
Commentary of Trademark Law (Co-author, Pakyoungsa, 2018)
Commentary of Design Protection Law (Co-author, Pakyoungsa, 2015)
Civil Execution Law: Theory and Case Study (Jinwonsa, 2014)
Preliminary Injunction Litigation: Theory and Case Study (Jinwonsa, 2014)

[Articles]

Exploitation of Derivative Works About Restored Works - Subject Case: Supreme Court Decision 2020Do6425 Decied December 10, 2020 -, Informedia Law Vol.26 No.1 (Korea Association for Informedia Law, 2022)
A Study on Patentablity of Selection Invention, LL.D thesis (College of Law, Seoul National University, 2022)
A Study on the Misappropriation of Other’s Achievements Stipulated in Article 2(1)Ka of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, Juris vol. 55 (Supreme Court Library of Korea, 2021)
Study on Transfer of Trademark Right and Cancellation of Trademark Registration Based on Use for Unlawful Purpose of Licensee of Trademark, Juris vol. 54 (Supreme Court Library of Korea, 2020)
Criteria for Determining the Creative Nature and Substantial Similarity of Mobile Games, Juris vol.49 (Supreme Court Library of Korea, 2019)
Requirement for Registration of Patent Term Extension and Scope of Effect of the Extended Patent Right, Juris vol.47 (Supreme Court Library of Korea, 2019)
Disposition to Exclude the Import Permission of Medicines from Extension of Patent Term and the Omission of Administrative Legislation, Korean Lawyer vol.733 (Korean Lawyer Association, 2019)
Criteria for Determining the Incomplete Invention – Supreme Court Decision 2017Hu523 Decided on Jan 17, 2019, The Journal of Intellectual Property Vol.14 No.4 (Korea Institute of Intellectual Property, 2019)
Whether the Application Can Argue with the International Searching Authority for Refusing to Apply for the Correction of the Specification in the International Application Process under the Patent Cooperation Treaty The Journal of Intellectual Property Vol.14 No.1 (Korea Institute of Intellectual Property, 2019)
Criteria for Determining Similarity of Combined Trademarks Consisting of Animals - Shaped Figures and Letters, Supreme Court Law Journal Vol.9 No.1 (Supreme Court Library, 2019)
The Duration of Injunctive Relief Against Misappropriation and Protection of Trade Secret, Intellectual Property vol.21 (Korea Patent Attorney Association, 2018)
Patent Transfer Registration Claims of Legitimate Right holder: In Connection with Unentitled Persons' Patent Applications(Misappropriated Applications), Collected Articles on Various IP Issues: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Patent Court of Korea (Patent Court of Korea, 2018)
New Standard of Judgment for Patent Applications Filed by Unentitled Person: Focusing on Derived Invention Modifying Another’s Claimed Invention and Burden of Proof, Supreme Court Law Journal Vol.5 No.2 (Supreme Court Library, 2015)

[Activities]

Counsel for Plaintiff, “Moot Arbitration : Damages Calculation upon Patent Infringement,” 8th IP Court Conference (Patent Court of Korea, 2022)
The 40th Anniversary of the Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit's Establishment Suggests to Us (Lawtimes Opinion, 2022.11.)
Lecturer, “Misappropriation of Other’s Achievements Stipulated in Article 2(1)Ka of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret,” Class of Special Study on the Credit Law (College of Law, Seoul National University, 2021.9.)
Lecturer, “Recent Supreme Court Precedents on Intellectual Property Rights” (Seoul Central District Court, 2020)
Presenter, “The Misappropriation of Other’s Achievements under the Unfair Competition and Trade Secret Protection Act” (Patent Court of Korea, 2020.10.)
Lecturer, “Judicial information” (Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea, 2020)
Presenter, “New Challenges and Overcoming of Korean Civil Execution - Focusing on Compulsory Execution of Co-owned Shares of Intellectual Property Rights and Virtual Currency” (Waseda University Comparative Research Association, 2019)
Lecturer, “Recent Supreme Court Precedent Trends in the Field of Intellectual Property” (Korea Bar Association & Seoul Bar Association, 2016-2020)
Moderator, “Session of Chief Judges - Harmonization and Cooperation in Patent Case,” 1st IP Court Conference of Korean Patent Court (2015)
Presenter, “Claim Construction & Procedural Rule,” 1st IP Court Conference of Korean Patent Court (2015)
Lecturer, “Intellectual Property Rights Law” (Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea, 2014-2020)