South Korea's long awaited "letter of consent system" was introduced on May 1, 2024, and the related amendments to the Korean Enforcement Regulations of the Trademark Act ("Regulations") went into effect on the same day.

The following points should be kept in mind to ensure that a consent letter is accepted. 

When consent letters can be submitted

A consent letter may be submitted at the time of filing an application or when a rejection based on similarity to a senior application/registration is actually received. The Regulations specify the time periods during which a consent letter may be submitted, and they are as follows:

• If the application has not yet been published: from the application filing date until the date of publication or the date of KIPO's final rejection 
• If the application has already been published: by the response deadline to an opposition or the response deadline to KIPO's office action 
• When requesting a re-examination: by the deadline to request the re-examination (i.e. within 3 months of the date the notice of the final rejection was received)
• If an appeal is filed with the IPTAB against KIPO's final rejection: from the date the appeal is filed until the IPTAB closes its examination of the appeal.

Required information 

According to the Regulations, the below information must be included in the consent letter to be accepted:

1.  Application and/or registration number(s) of the senior mark(s); 
2.  Application number of the applied-for mark (or information based on which the applied-for mark can be identified);
3.  The designated goods/services of the applied-for mark for which the consent is granted; 
4.  A statement confirming that the parties acknowledge that the respective trademark registers of the senior mark and the applied-for mark will reflect that the applicant's applied-for mark was registered with the consent of the owner of the senior mark;
5.  The name and signature of the owner of the senior mark(s); and
6.  The name and signature of the applicant. 

Unacceptable consent letters

The Regulations also stipulate that the below types of consents will not be accepted:

• Conditional consents (e.g. where the geographic region/period/effectiveness of the trademark rights, etc. are limited); 
• Comprehensive consents (e.g. where consent is given to the coexistence of any and all future applied-for marks, etc.); and
• Consents to the registration of an identical mark in respect of the same goods/services as the senior mark.

Although the Regulations provide detailed guidelines, Kim & Chang will be monitoring how they are applied in practice and whether they are refined over time.