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2026 Issue 3

PATENT

Korean Courts Begin to Define When to Apply Enhanced Damages for Willful Patent Infringement Korea’s patent punitive damages can now reach five times actual damages for willful infringement. New court decisions are starting to reveal clearer standards for how willfulness and damages amount are assessed. Read more IP High Court Holds That Foreign Online Listings Targeting Korean Consumers Can Infringe a Korean Patent The decision recognizes that posting an allegedly infringing product on an overseas online platform can constitute an “offer for assignment,” bringing such conduct within the reach of Korean patent law even absent proven domestic sales. Read more IP High Court Rules that a Rejection Based on Different Compared Elements of the Same Prior Art from a Previous Rejection Is a New Rejection Ground Allowing Further Response and Amendment The court expanded what counts as a “new” rejection ground, giving applicants another chance to respond and amend. The additional opportunity should help increase the applicants’ chances of obtaining allowances. Read more Rethinking the Clock: Korea’s Supreme Court Redefines When Employee-Invention Compensation Claims Arise—and When They Expire The ruling has major implications for how companies handle employee-invention compensation policies and claims. It also affects when these claims can be brought, making it important for employers to review their internal practices. Read more MOIP Publishes Examination Guidelines for Semiconductor Inventions MOIP has issued semiconductor-specific patent examination guidelines to improve clarity and predictability in prosecution. The Guidelines primarily deal with three patentability requirements in the Korean Patent Act. Read more Korea Boosts Tech Protection: New Monetary Rewards for Preventing and Reporting Overseas Trade Secret Leaks The newly amended Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act introduces a monetary reward system designed to incentivize the early detection, reporting, and prevention of overseas trade secret leaks. Read more

TRADEMARK, DESIGN, COPYRIGHT & UNFAIR COMPETITION

Korean Court Invalidates Generic Drug Trademarks in Landmark Pharmaceutical Brand Protection Case In a significant victory for pharmaceutical brand protection, Korea’s Intellectual Property High Court invalidated the trademark registrations of three generic hepatitis B drug brands, finding that they improperly imitated an original pharmaceutical trademark and were filed in bad faith. Read more MOIP Releases Guidelines on AI-Assisted Design Applications: “The Creator Must Be Human” The core principle of the Guidelines is that while AI-assisted designs are registrable, AI should only have been used as a tool in the design creation process. Read more Korea Allows Transfer of <.KR> Domain Names to Foreign Rights Holders Not Having a Korean Address As of July 1, 2026, even foreign rights holders without a Korean address can request the transfer of a disputed <.kr> domain name if the transfer results from an IDRC decision, a court judgment, or an arbitral decision. Read more

EDITORS Inchan Andrew KWON, Angela KIM, Raymis H. KIM & Cyril K. CHAN

NEWS

Kim & Chang Obtains Five Recognitions Including “South Korea Firm of the Year” – Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Awards 2026 Kim & Chang Ranked Again as a Tier 1 Firm in Korea – Managing IP STARS 2026 Kim & Chang Named in IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals 2026

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