On behalf of KAMUT Enterprises of Europe (BV, “KEE”), the owner of the trademark for the global premium grain brand “KAMUT,” Kim & Chang prevailed in the lawsuit on the merits, the preliminary injunction action, and the IPTAB trials in Korea.

“KAMUT” is a brand for Khorasan wheat products that has been used and managed globally by KEE since its trademark was registered in the US in 1990. It was first imported into Korea in 2015 and has since gained high recognition in the health food market.

First, in the IPTAB trial, third-party Korean companies filed an invalidation action and a confirmation-of-scope action, on the ground that “KAMUT” is a common name of Khorasan wheat, and thus has no distinctiveness. In the past, there were Patent Court precedents denying the distinctiveness of “KAMUT,” making it difficult to overcome such precedents and obtain a decision acknowledging the distinctiveness of “KAMUT.”

With our firm's expertise in the Trademark Act and extensive experience in domestic and foreign brand protection cases, our firm collected and analyzed a large volume of data on the perception of the status and use of “KAMUT” in Korea and abroad.

As a result, our firm was able to persuade the IPTAB that "KAMUT" has been consistently recognized as a brand name of KEE, and that KEE has actively and continuously managed the brand to prevent it from being a common name. Consequently, the IPTAB acknowledged the distinctiveness of "KAMUT" and dismissed all claims in both the invalidation action and confirmation of scope of rights.

Meanwhile, in the case on the merits of the lawsuit and the preliminary injunction, the counterparty's Korean food company assigned the trademark related to "KAMUT" to Kamut Enterprise in the past, and filed the lawsuit on the merits and the preliminary injunction by asserting the invalidation, rescission, and cancellation of the assignment agreement. Our firm emphasized that the assignment agreement was duly executed and validly performed, and the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the counterparty's claims in their entirety and revoked the preliminary injunction.

Through this successful decision, the trademark rights of KEE for "KAMUT" in Korea were firmly protected despite the previous unfavorable rulings, and will further strengthen the legal basis for the exercise of KEE’s rights in the future.