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KIPO and Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) checked for false intellectual property rights claims in the kitchenware field (June 2~July 5, 2025) (News Letter No. 559) |
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KH |
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2025-09-01 |
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204 |
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1. KIPO and Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) checked for false intellectual property rights claims in the kitchenware field (June 2~July 5, 2025).
- The number of cases which were detected by consumers directly participating in the detection of false indications increased by 41.4% compared to the previous year’s average.
False indication of intellectual property rights of cooking utensils among kitchenware was the highest with 301 cases (about 68% of the total number of detected cases). According to KIPO, a survey was conducted on the false indication of IP rights for kitchenware sold online from June 2 to July 4, based on the increasing demand for home-cooked meals and home cooking, etc. due to rising prices and the increased cost burden of eating out.
In this planning survey, 10,000 online sales posts of the kitchenware, such as cooking utensils, cooking vessels, kitchen miscellaneous goods, etc., were checked for false or exaggerated advertisements related to intellectual property rights and a total of 444 false indication cases were detected.
<97.3% of the total false indication cases of intellectual property rights of kitchenware were the false indication cases relating to patents and designs.>
The detected products were 301 cooking utensils (scoop, flipper, etc.), 127 kitchen miscellaneous goods (apron, kitchen glove, etc.), 11 cooking vessels (pot, frypan, etc.) and 5 kitchen supplies (kitchen shelf, etc.), showing that false indication of intellectual property rights was found to occur the most in the ‘cooking utensils’ products. Among the above, the false indication cases of patent rights and design rights were 280 and 152, respectively, accounting for the majority (97.3%) of the total.
By type of detected false indication, 228 cases indicated lapsed rights as valid rights even after lapse, 108 incorrectly indicated the names of intellectual property rights, 54 indicated the rights which were rejected for registration, 37 indicated that applications were filed for products being not filed, and 17 indicated intellectual property rights which did not apply to products. The cases of falsely indicating the extinguished rights as valid was the most common as 51.4%.
In this survey, the voluntary participation of the ‘college student watch group of advertisement’, a public participation system of KCA, was added into the investigation of false indication reporting center as the existing method, based on the business agreement signed by KIPO and KCA in January 2025. As the consumers who are active in purchasing on online platforms and who are most sensitive to online advertising, the college students and young generation serving as monitors increased the on-site nature and effectiveness of the crackdown on false indication. As a result, the total number of detected false indication cases was 444, a significant increase from last year’s average of 314.
KIPO will recommend improvement of the indication/labeling regarding the products judged to be false through this inspection and guide administrative measures and legal procedures that can be carried out in case of non-compliance.
2. Cooperation in upgrading patent examination administration, such as AI-based patent search, patent abstract, etc., is to be strengthened.
- KIPO held a meeting on AI in the IP field with LG AI Research.
KIPO and LG AI Research had an on-site communication meeting to strengthen the cooperation for AI in the IP field.
This meeting was arranged to listen to the development status of AI language model, EXAONE, which was developed by LG AI Research, to look at the progress of research project using AI in the patent field, which has been jointly promoted by LG AI Research and KIPO, and to discuss future cooperation measures.
KIPO and LG AI Research have collaborated in ▲ the AI patent search technology research based on sentence unit similarity to improve the limitation of existing patent search centered on literature units, and ▲ the algorithm development, etc. to summarize the core technical content of a patent literature by using the generative AI technology. Through these, KIPO plans to develop into an AI examination support system to support more accurate search and understanding of technology content.
The cooperation between the two has continued since 2023. KIPO signed a business agreement (MOU) for cooperation in the AI technology field with LG AI Research in July 2023 and jointly developed the AI language model specialized in the patent field in December 2023.
To improve the efficiency and quality of examination and trial administration, KIPO has applied, step by step, the deep learning-based AI system to the overall IP examination administration, such as search, classification and translation, etc. of patents, trademarks and designs. KIPO has a plan to continue to expand and advance the use of AI in the future.
3. The AI technology is equipped for one of four patent technologies related to air conditions in 2024.
- AI learns body type, voice, pulse and facial expressions from bedtime and wake-up time.
# “A” company had a patent of the technology in which AI automatically switches to sleep mode at a expected bedtime and maintains the user’s preferred temperature and humidity by learning weather, bedtime/wake-up time, usage history, etc.
# “B” research institute had a patent for the technology in which AI automatically adjusts a cooling direction and temperature of an air conditioner based on the purpose of each place and the location and number of people by learning the features of each indoor place and whether the user is present, etc.
# “C” company had a patent of the air conditioning technology in which AI controls temperature, humidity and wind speed in a personalized manner by learning user-specific data (facial shape, body shape, voice) and biometric information (pulse, body temperature, facial expressions).
According to KIPO, the number of patent applications for air conditions using AI increased by an annual average of about 8.6% over the last 5 years (2020~2024). Noticeably, the number of the relevant applications filed in 2024 was 50 with an increase of 42.8% compared to the previous year (35), showing rapid growth.
The proportion of patent applications for air conditioners using AI, among the total of air conditioner patent applications, increased from 14.3% in 2020 to 25.9% in 2024, indicating that one of four air conditioner patent applications was related to AI. This is because the relevant companies considered AT as a major factor to determine the competitiveness and performance of air conditioner products and focused on the relevant research and development. It is noted that the number of patent applications for air conditioners using AI has increased in the situation where the number of air conditioner patent applications has decreased.
By the type of an applicant, small and medium companies filed the most relevant applications, 83 cases (41.7%), followed by universities with 41 (20.6%), big companies with 37 (18.6%) and research institutes with 23 (11.6%).
It is noteworthy that, if the innovation of home appliance technology in the past was carried out by big companies, the technology innovation in the field of air conditioners led by AI has been currently participated by various industrial sectors, such as small and medium companies and universities, etc.
The director of the machinery and metals examination bureau of KIPO said, “in the situation where demand for air conditioners is expected to increase further as the heat wave has intensified due to climate change, AI will be one of the important factors to determine the performance of air conditioners.” The director also predicted that filing the patent applications for air conditioners using AI would be strong in the air conditioning technology field in the future.
4. Vice-commissioner of KIPO held an invitation training program, including a high-level talk with Mr. Abdelaziz Babqiqi, Director of Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC), etc.
According to KIPO, an invitation training program was conducted for Mr. Abdelaziz Babqiqi of OMPIC and high-level executives, for the advancement of Morocco’s intellectual property administration information system.
As part of the overseas informatization consulting project promoted by KIPO, this invitation training program was prepared to strengthen the overseas expansion of South Korea’s intellectual property administration system (hereinafter, referred to as ‘patent net’) and the foundation of intellectual property informatization cooperation between the two countries.
The invitation training program was conducted with informatization consulting meetings and visits to institutions to experience South Korea’s advanced administrations and technologies, etc.
In addition, the Vice-commissioner of KIPO and Mr. Babqiqi of OMPIC had a welcome meeting at the Daejeon Government Complex (Seo-gu, Daejeon city) of KIPO on August 26, 2025. A high-level meeting was held to introduce South Korea’s experience in building the intellectual property informatization system and Korean technology know-how and to discuss strategic support for intellectual property development suitable for Morocco’s local conditions.
The Moroccan delegation had an opportunity to exchange the intellectual property informatization technology through AI technology R&D results and cases in South Korea’s intellectual property field and to strengthen their understanding and practical capabilities in the overall informatization through visits to Korean companies where they could directly experience the AI technology.
5. Patent trial procedures are improved with on-site voices.
On August, 8, 2025, the Korea Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (KIPTA) of KIPO announced to implement the procedures related to patent trials improved by reflecting opinions from the users of a trial system.
In the first half of this year, KIPTA revised the relevant administrative rules by preparing improvements (such as the requirements for priority and expedited trials, the specification of trial-mediation linkage procedures, etc.) and by reflecting on-site voices collected through policy meetings with people in charge of intellectual properties of companies in the major industries (such as patent attorney association, machinery, chemical and biology, electrical electronics, etc.).
The relevant forms, etc. have been revised for activation of the trial-mediation linkage system, and the standards for applying for public representatives and payment of remuneration have been newly established so that public representatives can be used in trial-medication linked cases.
Trial-mediation linkage: To more flexibly and quickly resolve industrial property disputes, the trial-mediation linkage is to draw an agreement between the parties by transferring cases to the industrial property dispute mediation committee at the patent trial stage.
In the case of unfair trade practice investigation by the Trade Commission, an expedited trial was previously possible only at request, however, it has been reorganized to be able to be speedily proceeded under the authority of the judge. A trial case in the high-tech strategic industries, such as semiconductors, etc., has been changed to be processed as a priority trial when there is a direct request reflecting the intention of the claimant.
To improve the effectiveness of the ‘timely submission principle’, which was introduced to prevent a delay in the trial process and to promote the fidelity of the hearing, the notification forms, such as a notification of the progress of the hearing, the oral hearing documents, etc., have been revised to encourage the prompt submission of arguments and evidence, etc.
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