Sung-Eun Kim joined Kim & Chang in 2002. He is a patent attorney in the firm's Integrated Technology Practice. Prior to joining the firm, he worked as a research scientist at LG Chemical Ltd. and as a manager at Axia Materials (a venture company for developing novel polymeric materials) for about eight years. His research topics covered various items including novel materials for automobile, syndiotactic polystyrene manufacturing process, metallocene catalyst, gas-barrier packaging material and ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer). During his research, he participated in several researches for an invention, which some were granted as patents - Korean Patent Nos. 204737, 214291, 380012, 404881, 417252, and 468475.
He received his B.S. in Textile Engineering (1993) and M.S. in Fiber & Polymer Science Engineering (1995) from Seoul National University. He studied novel photosensitive polymers and its application as a lithography materials for semiconductor in the graduate school. After starting his career as a patent attorney, he obtained his LL.B (2007) from Korea National Open University and LL.M (2009) from University of Southern California. He was admitted to the Korean Patent Bar in 2001 and his practice focuses on a wide range of intellectual property matters, including prosecution, enforcement, and litigation.
In addition to prosecuting patent applications, a substantial part of his practice focuses on providing advice on validity and freedom-to-operate issues in connection with potential investments, licenses, acquisitions and joint ventures. He has experienced a number of patent infringement and/or validity cases concerning various items, such as nanofiber, materials for airbag, polyurethane fibers, optical films for electronics, adhesive or insulation materials for electronics, biodegradable polymers, fluorine-based materials, sanitary napkins, battery separators, functional food ingredients, diabetes medication, and antiplatelet drugs. He has been involved in evaluating intellectual property protection and in providing strategic advice to clients, specializing in the areas of materials for electronics, such as secondary batteries and OLED materials, polymer science, and fiber science. He has also been involved in many civil/criminal cases concerning a trade secret issue, a product liability issue or an EHS issue, as a technical adviser.
He believes that a patent counsel should understand technology trends to provide a timely and effective advice to clients, since patent specifications that were written in the past may be insufficient to catch up with the fast development of technology. Thus, he continuously reviews market reports and is eager to hear voices from the field. By doing so, with his dedicated team, he is able to understand the technological development and trends, particularly in the emerging sectors such as rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, and OLED.
