The Korean Design Examination Guidelines ("Guidelines") were amended effective March 1, 2020. The amendments are outlined below.

1. Stronger Protection for Well-Known Trademarks

The Guidelines strengthen protection of trademarks well-known in Korea, by adding designs comprising well-known trademarks as examples of invalid design applications, as follows.

     

2. Acceptability of Common English Article Names 

In view of international standards and business practices, the amended Guidelines provide that design applications using names of articles in English, if the names are commonly used, will now be accepted by KIPO. The following are acceptable article names under the amended Guidelines: "LED Light Bulb," "LCD Monitor," "Smart Watch," "MP3 Player," "Cellular Phone," etc.

3. Relaxed Examination Requirements for Designs Consisting of Repetitive Patterns

The Guidelines previously required that when filing for designs consisting of a repeating pattern, the pattern must be depicted at least 1.5 times in the drawing (or photo) submitted with the application, along with a description of the pattern. The amendment eases this requirement by providing that an application for such design will be allowed even if the pattern is shown only once in the submitted drawing or photo, as long as the description of the design makes it clear that the applied-for design consists of a repeating pattern.

An example of an acceptable design under the amended Guidelines is shown below left, while an example of what would have been required under the previous guidelines is shown on the right. The accompanying description in the application for this design should read: "The filed drawing repeats itself in vertical and horizontal directions."