Korea Intellectual Property Office adds 72 product names tied to mega projects

The Korea Intellectual Property Office said it will add 72 new product names used by industry to the official register that trademark applicants must draw on, covering goods tied to the country's three flagship industrial projects.

The names, which include loading collaborative robots, semiconductor manufacturing collaborative robots, lidar sensors, perovskite solar cells, application-specific integrated circuits, immersion cooling units for data centers and bidirectional computer systems for virtual power plants, were developed with the semiconductor, physical artificial intelligence and AI data center sectors. They will be posted on the office's website from Oct. 5 and formally enter the register on Jan. 1, 2027.

The office said the step is meant to let applicants file under the names they actually use, so they can secure trademark rights more easily and quickly. Under Korean trademark practice an applicant must specify the goods a mark will cover, and companies in newer fields have complained that terms in everyday use have not been reflected in the official list.

Trademark filings related to the three mega projects have climbed steadily, totaling 5,635 in 2024, 6,791 in 2025 and 7,016 by the end of August this year, already above last year's full-year figure. Applications for new product names not yet reflected in the register have also risen, from 139 in 2024 and 159 in 2025 to 142 in the first eight months of this year.

The office plans to select representative names and push for their inclusion in the Nice Classification, and will accept suggestions for new product and service names in emerging industries through its website.

"The early introduction of new product names will serve as institutional support that raises the convenience of filing and helps applicants secure trademark rights quickly," said Nam Young-taek, head of the office's trademark and design examination bureau.