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Amendment to the Korean Trademark Examination Guidelines Effective January 1, 2021: The Goods “Software” Are Now Required To Be Specified In Terms of Purpose​

韩国商标审查指南修正案于2021年1月1日生效：指定商品“Software”应加注具体用途

 

　　The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has amended the Korean Trademark Examination Guidelines (“Guidelines”) regarding the goods “software” as of January 1, 2021.  According to the amended Guidelines, the goods “software” are required to be specified in terms of its purpose (e.g., “game software” or “software for vehicle navigation”) for all trademark applications filed on and after January 1, 2021.  The KIPO announced that the purpose of the amendment is to reflect the market circumstances relating to software, examination practice in foreign countries, and opinions in the relevant industry. 

　　根据KIPO修正后的审查指南，于2021年1月1日当天或之后提交的新申请案，皆需详细说明商品“software”的用途(例如:游戏软件、汽车导航软件”)，KIPO宣布该修正案的目的是为了反映有关软件市场情况、他国审查实践以及产业意见。

 

　　In the past, the KIPO allowed broad descriptions of the goods “software” (such as “recorded computer software” and “software for smartphone applications”), thereby granting trademark rights for software for all purposes. However, given that software is practically used for a limited purpose, allowing the registration of a trademark for the goods “software” excessively restricted competitors from registering trademarks for software for different uses.

　　过去KIPO允许泛义的”software”(像是”计算机录制程序”及”手机应用程序”)，从而核准商标权存在于所有用途的软件上，但此举却过度限制了欲指定”software”于不同用途的其他竞争者。

 

　　The amendment also obligates the examiner to consider the purpose and nature of software when examining the similarity of goods and services relating to software so that confusion with regard to the source of the compared goods and services can be avoided. 

　　该修正案还规定审查委员在审查与”software”有关的商品和服务的近似性时，必须考虑到用途及性质，以便避免对其来源造成混淆。

 

　　According to a KIPO official, trademark applications filed prior to January 1, 2021 will be examined based on the prior Guidelines, and thus it is not necessary to voluntarily amend the goods “software” to describe the purpose for such applications.

 

　　根据KIPO官方规定，于2021年1月1日之前申请的商标审查会依据修正前的指南，因此申请人无须主动要求修正指定商品”software”的描述。

 

结语

 

　　此次KIPO修正了审查商标指南，让其他想在软件领域提出新商标申请的人有较公平的机会争取注册。也因此，在2021年1月1日当天或之后提出商标的申请人须注意，实际使用的商品或服务应该与所指定的软件用途相符，以免未来发生第三方对商标提出未使用撤销时，无法提出属于该用途之软件使用证据而遭到撤销。除了软件产业，在未来有关指定商品／服务具体化描述用途的规定可预见会增加而非减少，并且少数允许指定分类标题(class heading)的国家也将可能跟进，故建议注册商标时，提供商标所指定的商品和服务的准确描述，确保注册商标有完善的保护范围。

 

信息来源: LEE INTERNATIONAL IP & LAW GROUP