Finding ways to eradicate counterfeit products in the field! Korean Intellectual Property Office holds ‘Industry Meeting to Prevent Distribution of Counterfeit Products’

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (Director Kim Wan-ki) will hold an “Industry Meeting on Prevention of Distribution of Counterfeit Products” at the JW Marriott Hotel (Seocho-gu, Seoul) at 14:00 on Wednesday, August 28, attended by private associations of trademark holders by industry, online platform companies, and related public institutions as part of on-site communication. 」 was held.

According to a recent announcement by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the global trade volume of counterfeit products that infringe the trademarks of Korean companies amounts to 11 trillion won (as of 2021). This is equivalent to 1.5% of Korea’s exports, and effective measures to prevent the distribution of counterfeit products are urgently needed.

In order to effectively eradicate the distribution of counterfeit products and strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights of Korean companies, this meeting shared strategies to prevent the distribution of counterfeit products between the public and private sectors, focusing on industries such as fashion and cosmetics where there are many K-brand infringements. It was designed to listen to the difficulties faced by the distribution of counterfeit products.

The meeting was attended by officials from the Korean Intellectual Property Office and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, 10 private associations including the Korea Fashion Industry Association and the Korea Cosmetic Association, 8 domestic online platforms including Naver, Coupang, Gmarket, and 11st, and 2 related public institutions including the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency.

At the meeting, measures to improve the system included mandating the designation of domestic agents to strengthen the responsibility of overseas platform companies and introducing a conditional exemption system to prevent the distribution of counterfeit products to encourage active participation of trademark holders and online platform companies. In addition, after listening to the actual status and difficulties of counterfeit product distribution from experts familiar with field practice, opinions were shared on the most effective and realistic solution to eradicate counterfeit products.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office has introduced artificial intelligence (AI) inspection (monitoring) on ​​a pilot basis since June of this year to strengthen the detection and blocking of the distribution of counterfeit products, which are becoming more sophisticated and intelligent. In addition, a system has been in operation since April to block counterfeit products flowing into overseas direct purchases at the border stage by sharing information detected through inspections with the Korea Customs Service.

In the future, we plan to further strengthen public-private cooperation to quickly identify the distribution status of counterfeit products and prepare and implement measures such as strengthening crackdowns on counterfeit products and strengthening appraisal support and inspection (monitoring).

Kim Wan-ki, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, emphasized, “Continuous dialogue and cooperation between the government, trademark holders, and the distribution industry are the core of an effective counterfeit product prevention policy,” and added, “We will establish a continuous feedback system to ensure that communication between the government and industry does not end up as a one-off event in the future, so that government policy “We will find the direction on the spot,” he said.

Meanwhile, if you are experiencing difficulties with counterfeit products, anyone can receive consultation through the Intellectual Property Infringement One-Stop Reporting and Counseling Center (main number 1666-6464, www.ippolice.go.kr) of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and infringement reports are also available. You can do it easily.

Editor. Seyeong Hong