On December 27, 2024, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Patent Act and the Utility Model Act ("Amendment") that expands the definition of acts that would constitute practicing an invention or utility model for purposes of infringement to include "exports." Specifically, the definitions of "practice of an invention" and "practice of a utility model" have been revised to recite "manufacturing, using, assigning, leasing, importing, or exporting." The Amendment was officially promulgated on January 21, 2025, and will take effect on July 22, 2025.

South Korea is a major player in global trade (ranking 8th in exports and 10th in imports as of 2023), but while existing laws included importation as an act of practicing an invention or utility model for purposes of infringement, they were silent regarding whether exports of otherwise-infringing products were infringing acts. As such, it has been challenging in Korea to enforce claims for damages or criminal liability under the Patent Act and the Utility Model Act regarding exported infringing products. Prior to the Amendment, the only remedies available to rights holders in practice were to try to block exports of infringing products at Customs, or to request that the Korea Trade Commission block such exports or impose fines under the Act on the Investigation of Unfair International Trade Practices and Remedy against Injury to Industry. This was in contrast to the situation with trademarks and designs, since the Trademark Act and Design Protection Act were already revised in 1974 and 2011 to include exports as potentially infringing acts.

As the Amendment now gives patent and utility model owners the same rights to assert infringement claims against exports as trademark and design holders, it is expected that this will significantly enhance the ability of right holders to protect their IP in Korea and globally.