1. Patent Applications on Gene upsurged

As study on human genome is being progressed, the number of domestic patent filings with reference to gene has dramatically increased.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) said that the number of gene patent applications submitted upto April 2001 is tallied at 284 cases (based on sequence list submitted), up 50.2% compared with like period of last year of 189 cases and up 107.2% compared with that of 1999 of 137 cases. A total of 442 cases of gene-related patent filings were recorded in 2000 while the year of 1999 showed only 264 cases.

Particularly, DNA chip technology is a field comprising a major market in the gene patent, such that 28 cases in total were filed from early part of 1990 to October last, DNA chip is a kind of gene analysis device for minutely integrating gene segments numbering from hundreds to hundreds of thousands.

DNA chip patents so far opened cover 1376 cases worldwide including 502 registered cases in US, 393 cases under PCT filing, 278 in EP and 175 in Japan. Outside of DNA chip field, a variety of related applications such as gene transformation search, new drug development, forensic medicine and the like are being filed. These kinds of gene related filings need particular attention in writing specifications thereof but basically test-proven concrete usefulness should be listed thereon for protection as patent.

2. Increased Patent Application for Liquid Crystal Projector-related technology

Keeping pace with trend of large-sized display units, demand of high quality screens and development of HDTV, patent applications related to crystal liquid projectors have been continuously on the increase since the latter half of 1990s.

Particularly, 87 percent of Korean applications are filed by domestic enterprises such that large-sized display as well as LCD technology, whose world market share being largely enjoyed by the Korean businesses, serve to lay industrial corner stones on the Korean image equipment industries.

An liquid crystal projector is an equipment which uses a liquid crystal panel as light switching element to project images of a liquid crystal panel, and to enlarge and project the images by way of optical system. The liquid crystal projector first appeared in 1988 and many kinds of products have been commercialized from various markers, attracting public expectation as display device shouldering the responsibility for big size screens of the next generation.

The lion's share of Korean patent applications are occupied mostly by conglomerates, LG, Samsung leading the top. The liquid crystal projector is concentrated by and large to color separation/combination and system techniques. However, applications by small and medium industries are continuously on the increase to expectedly complement the top-sided technical dependency on the big companies in the near future.

Great demands in the future for the liquid crystal projectors are mainly coming from household, and business sectors, such that home projection TV and business projectors are anticipated to take 83 percent of the total market.

Business projector markets are believed to grow at an average annual growth rate of 12.7 percent while home projection TVs, originally forecast to expand from 30 percent growth rate of 1997 to 39 percent of 2004, have shown only 5.4% annual growth rate on the average and are estimated to be greatly decreased to 44 percent in 2004 from the present market share of 53 percent.

KIPO issued concrete practical data for cracking down on fakes

The KIPO collected trademarks domestically manufactured, marketed and circulated on fabricated products out of trademark devices registered on trademark registry as of February 28, 2001 to publish a booklet named "Collected trademarks often pirated in and out of Korea". Collected trademarks include 13 Korean trademarks such as Bean Pole, Maru and the like and 70 foreign trademarks inclusive Louis Vuitton, Prada and the like, totalling 83 trademarks. The KIPO hopes the booklet will help law enforcement agencies clamp down on fabricated goods.

The data also contains devices of trademarks often fabricated, description of pirated trademarks and penal regulations against dealers of faked goods.

The booklets are distributed to law enforcement agencies such as local self-governing bodies, prosecutors, police and customs offices which are responsible for crack-down on faked trademarks to help them to enlighten the public and eradicate bad goods distribution.

Up-to-date Precedents

1. Coined trademarks may be liable to becoming descriptive marks

The Supreme Court ruled recently that even a trademark independently made by a business man and if it is regarded as necessary for everybody's transaction, an exclusive use right cannot be granted to a particular person for public interests. In relation to registrability of a trademark consisting of a Korean term having the meaning of "Administering method of feet" for promoting health by massaging the feet for better circulation of blood, the Supreme Court decided on May 1, 2001 that although the terminology is a coined word, the trademark may be considered one of the marks necessary for everybody, inclusive of the general consumers interested in folk remedy such that exclusive use as trademark by a particular person is improper.

2. Decision of Inventiveness for Invention deleted with Excipient and Meaning of existence of corresponding foreign patent

With reference to interpretation of inventiveness for an invention regarding preparation of an injection free from only excipient in comparison with the prior art, the Supreme Court ruled as below: In manufacturing preparation of an injection, the invention according to claim 1 uses the same base as that of cited reference and is treated by hydrochloric acid and hydrochloridized which is a physiologically allowable acid, such that there is no special point structure-wise except that excipient is deleted which is naturally obtained by deleting frozen dry process in the cited reference. However, in view of the fact that frozen dried product added by excipient is generally superior to liquid preparation of an injection free from excipient in terms of extended preservation, the invention according to claim 1 cannot be recognized as having a particular distinction compared with cited reference even in the sense of effect whereas preamble of the invention according to claim 1 even does not have any specialty construction-wise when compared with cited reference, such that the invention according to claim 1 does not distinguish itself from the citation in terms of construction of characteristics and preamble and operational effect, whereby it can be easily invented from the cited reference.

Furthermore, regarding an effect the existence of corresponding foreign patents affect on the interpretation of inventiveness, interpretation of whether or not an invention is inventive depends on technical level at the time of filing, existence and nonexistence of corresponding inventions and other situations each nation is faced with, so that only a state an invention in question has been registered in patent at foreign countries cannot be domestically recognized as having inventiveness.