In a significant win for the casual sportswear brand Champion, Kim & Chang successfully cancelled a third party's registrations for the marks   and  , which the registrant had been using for decades on footwear, preventing Champion from launching their own footwear line and causing damage to Champion's brand due to the marks' similarity to Champion's  and  logos. 

Although the third party marks are clearly similar to Champions' famous logos, Champion did not previously have any legal grounds to invalidate them because they were originally registered in the early 1990's, before the Korean Trademark Act was amended to prohibit registrations of marks copying marks well-known only in a foreign country. 

However, when Kim & Chang's attorneys noticed that the registrant had started using colored versions of the marks (e.g., "", "" and ""), Champion immediately sought to have the third party's registrations cancelled by the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB) on the basis of "improper use." Under the Trademark Act, if a trademark owner intentionally uses a mark that is similar to a registered mark on a product identical/similar to a designated product in order to cause consumer confusion, the registration for the mark must be cancelled. This clause was introduced to prevent a trademark owner from using a registered mark improperly beyond the granted scope of use and in a manner that is contrary to the fundamental purposes of the trademark registration system. 

In its defense, the registrant argued that the  logo should be deemed identical to the registered mark   since only the color had been changed. The registrant also argued that it had not used the modified marks in bad faith because the modified versions had been used by a licensee without the registrant's knowledge. 

Although the Trademark Act allows the use of a registered mark in a different color (i.e., provides that "the use of a registered mark in a different color falls within the 'scope of the identity' of a registered mark"), Kim & Chang successfully argued that the addition of the red and blue colors made it identical to Champion's C logo, and thus amounted to more than just a change of the color. Kim & Chang also argued that bad faith and intent were attributable to the registrant because the marks were used by an authorized subcontractor, and in the registrant's name. 

The IPTAB agreed with all of Champion's claims and ordered the cancellation of the registrations. With respect to the registrant's arguments regarding the C logo, the IPTAB showed flexibility in applying the basic legal principle for use of a color mark and ruled for the very first time that a mark that has only been altered in terms of color can fall outside the scope of the registered mark depending on the circumstances, which can include the reputation of the branded mark and the bad faith intent of the registrant. 

The IPTAB decisions were confirmed by the Patent Court on appeal, and the copycat registrations were conclusively cancelled. Champion was finally able to register their logos for footwear and start selling footwear in Korea by enforcing their rights against others using similar logos.