Korea Intellectual Property Office announces forum on content-linked food-brand copying

The Korea Intellectual Property Office said that the National Intellectual Property Commission will hold a forum on intellectual-property issues involving food and virtual brands featured in Korean content.

Food featured in Korean content has created substantial market demand, the commission said, but popular menu items and virtual brands have also been copied without authorization.

Jeon Jeong-hwa, a research fellow at the Korea Intellectual Property Research Institute, proposed support for early IP registration of food featured in content, standard revenue-sharing contracts for partnerships between creators and companies or between companies, and a joint response system for infringement. She also said consumer-protection measures were needed and raised the question of who owns rights to food and virtual brands featured in content.

Shin Dong-seok, a specialist at the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency, cited the snack Chocobi from the animation "Crayon Shin-chan" as a commercialization case. Since becoming a real product in 2006, it has surpassed 300 million units in cumulative shipments over 20 years, but has faced unauthorized trademark registrations overseas and counterfeit distribution.

The commission cited dishes featured in the film "Parasite" and drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo." Jang Dong-seong, an official in Nongshim's legal team, said recipes themselves are not protected by law. He argued that for food that becomes a global trend through Korean content, rapidly securing global trademark rights was the only way to stop counterfeit goods.

Kim Se-chang, head of SLL Central's legal policy team, said product placement brings food brands into content, while business licensing takes content IP to market. Limits on the permissible scope of advertising have constrained cooperation between the content and food industries.

The Aug. 20 forum, chaired by Lee Chun-moo at the Korea Intellectual Property Center in Seoul's Gangnam district, is expected to bring together around 30 experts from government organizations, research institutes and industry groups. "Because K-content and K-food are assets that represent both Korea's cultural and industrial competitiveness, we will gather a wide range of views from experts in the field through this forum and develop effective policy alternatives," Lee, head of the Intellectual Property Strategy Planning Division, said.