Korea Intellectual Property Office, KINPA brief firms on patent dispute defense

The Korea Intellectual Property Office said Tuesday that its patent tribunal and the Korea Intellectual Property Association (KINPA) held a meeting in Seoul to share practical strategies for responding to patent disputes, drawing about 50 tribunal officials and member-company representatives.

The session at the Korea Intellectual Property Center in Gangnam District opened with the tribunal's own experience of taking evidence directly at disputed sites, a procedure known as on-site verification. Judges used it in a recent dispute over large mechanical equipment, where facts that written review and oral hearings had failed to establish clearly were confirmed on site. Discussion also covered ways to improve the tribunal's handbook on evidence collection and investigation.

Han Jung-sub, a judge at the patent tribunal, presented the procedure and its cases. Cho Young-woo, a manager at LG Energy Solution, then spoke on how U.S. authorities construe patent claims and how companies should respond, including building design-arounds and non-infringement arguments. His presentation was aimed at strengthening the capabilities Korean companies need to enter the U.S. market, the office said.

Sung Si-kyung, a deputy director in the tribunal's policy division, set out recent rulings and trends in patent invalidation, centered on how the tribunal judges whether an invention that combines earlier technologies was obvious to a skilled person. Such judgments often differ from one examiner to another, and the session addressed how companies can argue obviousness persuasively in their own cases.

KINPA was founded in 2008 and now has about 300 member companies organized into eight divisions, with large and smaller businesses such as Amorepacific, LT Materials and Hyosung taking part.

"An efficient trial system should not only settle disputes in the field wisely but also offer direction for preventing them in advance, so that companies can concentrate on technology development and their businesses with confidence," said Kim Ki-beom, head of the patent tribunal. He said the tribunal would actively reflect companies' views in its procedures and policies through continued communication.