Let's continue the discussion on “Introduction to Intellectual Property and Understanding Intellectual Property”. Among them, today we will learn about “patent trial and litigation system”.
1. Overview of Patent Trial
A patent trial refers to the procedure in which the Patent Trial Judge makes a trial decision in order to resolve any objection to the decision or dispute of the Korean Intellectual Property Office. It is a type of litigation system that examines and decides disputes under the Patent Act. Although it is an administrative litigation procedure, it has a quasi-judicial nature similar to a civil lawsuit.
The Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board is an institution within the Korean Intellectual Property Office that primarily examines and judges disputes related to industrial property rights. The Patent Court is a high court-level specialized court under the Supreme Court and has jurisdiction over appeals against the trial decision or decision of the Patent Tribunal. Cases of dissatisfaction with patent infringement litigation conducted in the general district court are handled by the general high court.
2. Types of Patent Trials
Patent trials are divided into inter-party trials, which have jurisdiction over cases of disputes between the parties after granting the patent right, and decision-making trials, which include correction trials and appeals against a decision to reject a patent. In the case of inter-parties trial, it mainly has jurisdiction over invalidation trials and trials to confirm the scope of rights.
The patent trial procedure begins with a request for trial. When requesting a trial, a trial request form and attached documents are submitted, and a trial case number is assigned. Thereafter, the trial ends after going through the formal trial and the trial on the merits. Types of the end of a trial include withdrawal, which considers the trial as never happened, a decision made by the presiding judge or tribunal, and a request for trial due to a lack of summary of the trial request. It is divided into a dismissal of disapproval, a citation that accepts the opinion of the trial petitioner, and a trial decision that rejects the opinion of the trial petitioner.
3. Trial decision revocation litigation
A trial decision revocation litigation is a lawsuit in which the Patent Trial and Appeal Board is dissatisfied with the trial decision or dismissal and seeks cancellation of the trial decision from the Patent Court. It starts with the filing of a lawsuit by submitting a complaint to the Patent Court within 30 days, from the date of receipt of a trial decision or a certified copy of the decision. Then, both parties will have a preparatory procedure for the issue, and then hold arguments for each other. Types of termination of the trial after preparatory procedure include withdrawal, which is deemed not to have brought a lawsuit, waiver to terminate the lawsuit because the plaintiff or defendant has given up, dismissal when it is judged that the grounds for the cancellation lawsuit are insufficient, and the cancellation decision to be made when the reasons for the cancellation lawsuit are judged appropriate.
4. Patent Litigation
Patent civil litigation and patent trial are proceeding along different routes. Civil litigation takes the order of the district court, the high court, and the Supreme Court, and the patent trial goes through the Intellectual Property Tribunal, the Patent Court, and the Supreme Court. In civil patent litigation, the decision is often made after waiting for the decision of the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board. The main types of civil patent litigation include a patent infringement claim, a patent infringement injunction action, and a claim for damages.
In the case of patent criminal litigation, there is a route from the Patent Tribunal to the District Court High Court, the Supreme Court, and a route through the competent police station, district court, high court, and the Supreme Court. It reserves the right to request the infringer to submit information relating to the breach because it is often difficult to collect appropriate proofs in regard to the infringement.
5. Trade Remedies
The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) is operating the trade remedies through WTO/TRIPs (Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights Agreements). Tariffs are imposed on unfair trade practices caused by infringement of intellectual property rights, or imports and exports are blocked in the case of infringement of intellectual property rights.
Today, we learned about “Patent Trial and Litigation System”. Next, we will discuss “Strategy for Response to Patent Disputes”.
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*I am a student learning IP, not an IP expert. Translation is also by Google translator and my insufficient English skills. I hope it will be helpful for those who do not have the relevant knowledge or who want to learn about IP.
*The above is what I learned from a book compiled by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and Korea Invention Promotion Association (published by Pakmungak) entitled “Introduction to Intellectual Property, Understanding Intellectual Property”.
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