Seoul

We specialize and provide in-depth knowledge and analysis based consulting on the following areas of IP –

- IP Search/Analysis
- Consulting for Technology - Transfer Commercialization
- Consulting for IP-Based R&D
- License Management & Evaluation
- Technology Value Evaluation/Technology Transaction
- Education Consulting
- Standard Patent/Non-Practicing Entity Response
- Design/Brand Consulting
- Policy/Research Task
- Trade Secret

Our lawyers with expertise diverse fields have successfully assisted clients in general legal matters and various litigations.
Based on numerous litigation experiences, our legal team is trying to obtain the best results for clients even for big, complicated disputes in a most effective manner in a short time. In particular, to offer clients fully satisfactory and beneficial results to clients in all litigation cases, our legal team is composed of lawyers who can provide specialized services in each field and is trying to reflect our clients’ opinion during litigating proceedings.

[Civil Lawsuit] Civil lawsuits are procedures in which economic or status disputes occurring between individuals or groups and/or in a country are made to be resolved legally and compulsorily by jurisdiction. As a society becomes versatile and specialized, modern civil lawsuits are expanded from private disputes between individuals to group disputes with respect to transactions between an individual and a company and between companies. Further, civil disputes show complex characteristic as they are getting associated with issues in other fields, such as finance, construction, real estate, fair trade, insurance, etc.

[Criminal Lawsuit] Criminal lawsuits are a series of procedures in which the defendant charged by a prosecutor is found to be guilty or innocent by a court and, if found guilty, the defendant is sentenced to punishment by the government.

[Administrative Lawsuits] In the professional or technical industrial field, the discretion or authority of administrative offices is regarded important. As such, where there is any opinion contrary to administrative offices and their business activities, a need to preliminarily resolve disputes with the administrative offices before the disposition of regulation is increasing. In particular, the reinforcement of administrative procedures enables companies to actively reflect their position at the administrative procedures prior to lawsuits, thereby executing their rights of defense against anticipatively unfavorable administrative dispositions.

[Commercial Law] By analyzing the legislations and precedents relating to the Commercial Act, the Insurance Business Act, the General Clauses Regulation Act, etc., we provide various litigation services such as claiming insurance resulting from accidents, claiming reimbursements, etc. and legal services for marine such as the legal interpretation of vessel collision, bill of loading, etc.

Additionally, we provide overall legal services such as lodging an administration lawsuit to appeal the decision of the Fair Trade Commission, which is rendered with respect to violation of the Fair Competition Act and filing a claim for damages or criminal lawsuit for the violation.

[Family Litigation, Inheritance Litigation] As drastic changes such as the abolishment of the patriarchal family system, the introduction of property division system and gender equality in inheritance are brought into society, new values and legal solutions reflecting them are given a lot of importance.

MAJOR PRACTICES

- Damage claims, preservation lawsuits, etc.
- Corporate criminals, IP right infringement, unfair transaction, violation of the Customs Act, violent crimes, economic crimes (fraud, embezzle, malpractice, etc.), traffic crimes, etc.
- Administrative trials, administrative lawsuits, representation of administrative proceedings, representation of or participation in inter parties lawsuits, etc.
- Finance, stock, insurance, marine, fair transactions, etc.
- Divorce, property division, inheritance, legal reserve of inheritance, inheritance tax, gift tax, etc.

Corporate or individual business activities can hardly be done if tax and financial issues are overlooked. It is difficult to imagine corporate activities without considering such issues, including taxes and the public utilities’ charges related to corporate sales, raising funds for facilities and operation of a manufacturing business, raising funds for purchasing land and construction of a construction business, and turnover of capital and collection of receivables of a service business. It is also difficult to imagine individual activities without considering tax and financial issues, such as selling and buying real estate, inheritance, divorce, etc. A variety of methods of raising funds, for example, project financing, trust and asset securitization, are used as the means for supporting economic activities.

We have a strong lineup that can support such businesses activities for corporate or individuals and resolve legal disputes derived therefrom and have various experience of resolving such disputes or problems.

MAJOR PRACTICES

- Corporate
- Corporate(M&A)
- Management right disputes
- Corporate rehabilitation, re-organization and individual rehabilitation
- Unfair trade practices and unfair common practices
- Franchise law
- Subcontract law

TAX

- Administrative matters involving tax (disputes on imposition of surcharge, tax investigation)
- Criminal matters involving tax (tax evasion, criminal of regularity, offshore tax evasion)

FINANCE/REAL ESTATE

- Banks and general financial matters
- Trust/securities and capital markets
- Asset securitization
- Planning construction project financing and funding
- Construction services (design drawing, supervision, construction management)
- Governmental contracts, funding and bidding
- Redevelopment and reconstruction
- Claims and lawsuits with respect to construction
- Real estate development (real estate trust)
- Real estate lawsuits/auctions
- Disputes for construction environment (sunshine, view)

The values of intellectual property rights owned by companies cannot be emphasized enough. However, although companies’ inventions developed by dedicating considerable time and effort have prodigious significance and importance in a technical or commercial sense, the legal values of the granted patents are not always in proportion to the technical or commercial significance and importance. That is, if the companies fail to properly execute their patent rights or to efficiently defend themselves or attack the other party in legal disputes during the execution of patent rights, the patent rights may become invalid or meaningless.

PATENT/UTILITY MODEL

The values of intellectual property rights owned by companies cannot be emphasized enough. However, although companies’ inventions developed by dedicating considerable time and effort have prodigious significance and importance in a technical or commercial sense, the legal values of the granted patents are not always in proportion to the technical or commercial significance and importance. That is, if the companies fail to properly execute their patent rights or to efficiently defend themselves or attack the other party in legal disputes during the execution of patent rights, the patent rights may become invalid or meaningless.

In contrast, where the companies are alleged to infringe on the other parties’ patents, how they take technical or legal defense strategies may completely change the outcome of the lawsuits.

Legal disputes related to patents/utility models may produce a most effective result when a synergy effect between a highly developed technical and legal knowledge is presented. Thus, such lawsuits require in-depth expert knowledge and experience of the relevant technology and law. We can provide the optimal legal services for resolving such disputes based on expertise for the respective technical fields and long-term experience of trials and litigations.

MAJOR PRACTICES

- Patent/utility model infringement lawsuits, damage claim lawsuits and preliminary injunctions against infringement
- Criminal lawsuits regarding patent/utility model infringement
- Various trials at the KIPT such as invalidation trials, confirmation-of-scope trials, etc.
- Trials to appeal the decisions rendered by the KIPT
- Lawsuits relating to compensation for employee invention
- Drafting warning letters for patent/utility model infringement and reply letters
- Reviewing and counseling the existence of patent/utility model infringement
- Drafting validity and enforceability opinions & clearance opinions for patents/utility models
- Investigation of unfair trade practices for patents/utility models by the Korea Trade Commission
- Investigation of patent infringement relating to withholding of customs clearance and custody by the Korea Customs Service
- Transfer of patents/utility models and licensing agreements
- Prior art search and review as to the invalidation of patents/utility models
- Review and counseling of regulations relating to employee invention

Companies can have rights of exclusively practice their trademark/design rights by filing trademark/design applications and obtaining registrations before the KIPO. Trademark/design applications are prosecuted by our trademark/design attorneys and patent attorneys who are well aware of KIPO examination practice as they served as examiners of the KIPO, judges of the KIPT and/or technical examiners of the Korean Patent Court. Our IP experts assist domestic and foreign clients in all procedures from filing trademark/design applications to obtaining registrations. We also try to maximize an opportunity for registration and minimize risk for infringement, for example, by conducting a prior search in order to offer useful advice on potential marks and designs to clients before selecting and using them.

We provide services relating to applications and registrations of patents, utility models, trademarks and designs to domestic and foreign clients across the globe, including Japan, China, Europe and the US.

Companies can have rights to exclusively practice their own inventions by filing patent/utility model applications and obtaining registrations.

Patent applications are prosecuted by our patent attorneys who have science or technology backgrounds and understand technology in the relevant fields, and patent attorneys who are well aware of KIPO examination practice as they served as examiners of the KIPO, judges of the Korean Intellectual Property Tribunal (KIPT) and/or technical examiners of the Korean Patent Court. Our patent attorneys also have extensive experience covering all technical fields, including electronic, telecommunication, software, machinery, construction, metals, materials, chemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and food, in relation to procedures from filings to registrations for domestic and foreign clients.

To comply with clients’ goals, commercial values of inventions, target markets and growth potential in the relevant technologies, our IP professionals consider the possibility of practicing patent rights in the future even at the stage of filing applications.