Enhancing International Credibility Inscribing “Republic of Korea” on Intellectual Property Registration Certificates – MOIP
06-Jul-2026
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Source : The South Korea’s Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP)
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Visits : 65
- Improving convenience in international trademark registration applications and data management for design registration applications -
DAEJEON - The South Korea’s Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP), led by Minister KIM Yong Sun, announced that partial amendments to the Enforcement Rules of the Trademark Act and the Enforcement Rules of the Design Protection Act will take effect starting on June 17, 2026. The amendments aim enhance the international recognition and credibility of trademark and design certificates and streamline related application procedures, according to the official website of MOIP.
1) Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Trademark Act [Prime Minister's Decree No. 2120, effective June 17, 2026]
2) Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Design Protection Act [Prime Minister's Decree No. 2119, effective June 17, 2026]
The amendments focus on revising administrative forms following the elevation of Korea’s IP authority to ministerial status and addressing procedural shortcomings in the current system. They are designed to strengthen the international recognition and credibility of IP registration certificates by clearly identifying them as official documents issued by the Ministry of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Korea, while also improving procedural convenience and data management in trademark and design applications.
<(1) “Republic of Korea” Specified on IP Registration Certificates to Strengthen International Recognition >
As part of the amendments to the Enforcement Rules of the Trademark Act and the Design Protection Act, the official forms for trademark and design registration certificates have been revised.
Following the institutional reform, the institution’s official English name was changed from the “Korean Intellectual Property Office” to the “Ministry of Intellectual Property.” In line with this change, the country name “REPUBLIC OF KOREA” has also been added to the issuing authority information displayed on Korean- and English-language trademark and design registration certificates.
With this revision, it becomes immediately and intuitively clear that the rights are registered with the Ministry of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Korea, making the certificates more clearly identifiable abroad as official documents issued by the Government of the Republic of Korea. This is expected to help rights holders operating overseas demonstrate the official status of their registration certificates, especially when exercising trademark rights, entering into licensing agreements, attracting investment, or responding to disputes abroad.
<(2) Agent Notification Exemption Expanded to Improve Convenience in International Trademark Registration Applications >
As part of the amendments to the Enforcement Rules of the Trademark Act, the scope of exemption from submitting a notification concerning the agent has been expanded for international trademark registration applications.
In principle, agents must generally submit both a “power of attorney“ and a “notification concerning the agent“ when carrying out trademark registration-related application or request procedures. However, submission of the notification concerning the agent is exempted is exempted in certain cases. Previously, for international trademark registration applications, this exemption applied only when the first document submitted was a request for extension of a designated period,* but not when it was a request for extension of a statutory period.** This created inconvenience for non-residents (or persons without a domicile or place of business in Korea), who frequently use statutory-period extension requests.
* Designated Period: A period designated by the Minister of IP, an examiner, or an administrative patent judge (e.g., period for submitting an opinion statement).
** Statutory Period: A period prescribed by law (e.g., period for petitioning for a trial, period for registration of establishment).
Under the amendment, the exemption will now also apply even when the first document submitted is a request for extension of a statutory period. In addition, clarifications have been made to the explanations of opposition-related documents so that users can easily understand who needs to submit which document and under what circumstances.
<(3) Project Information Entry Expanded to Enhance Management of Design Applications for National R&D Outcomes >
As part of the amendments to the Enforcement Rules of the Design Protection Act, the scope of project information that may be entered in design registration applications for national R&D outcomes has been expanded.
To manage intellectual property outcomes generated through government-funded R&D projects, applicants are required to enter relevant national R&D project information when filing design registration applications. Previously, applicants could only enter the project number managed through NTIS, the National Science & Technology Information Service, which created a risk that some R&D-related design applications could be omitted from statistical management.
Under the amendment, applicants will also be able to enter the unique project number managed through IRIS, the Integrated Research & Development Information System. This is expected to support more systematic and accurate management of design applications related to national R&D outcomes.
Director General NAM Yeong Taek of the Trademark & Design Examination Bureau at MOIP stated “These amendments are intended to make it clear that the intellectual property rights concerned are registered with the Ministry of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Korea, while also improving convenience in trademark and design registration applications. MOIP will continue to actively support the public and businesses so that they can apply for and utilize intellectual property rights more conveniently.”
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act, which include measures such as specifying the country name on patent certificates and improving the deferred examination system, have been in effect since May 14, 2026. These partial amendments can be found on the MOIP website(www.moip.go.kr) or the National Law Information Center of the Ministry of Government Legislation(www.law.go.kr).