South Korea general info

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state located in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. Its neighbours are China to the West, Japan to the East, and North Korea to the North. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9.8 million. South Korea is a presidential republic consisting of seventeen administrative divisions and is a developed country with a very high standard of living.

IP Legal Base in South Korea

Patent Act
Enforcement Decree of the Patent Act
Utility Model Act
Enforcement Decree of the Utility Model Act
Industrial Design Protection Act
Enforcement Decree of the Design Protection Act
Trademark Act
Enforcement Decree of the Trademark Act
Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act
Enforcement Decree of The Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act
Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act
Enforcement Decree of the Act on the layout designs of semiconductor integrated circuits

International organizations/agreements

Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
Patent Cooperation Treaty
Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms
Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms  for the Purposes of Patent Procedure
WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification  
Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services  for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks
Trademark Law Treaty
International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants       
Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration  of Marks       
WIPO Copyright Treaty       
Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks
Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs

Patent Office Contact Details

Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)
Government Complex Daejeon Building 4
189, Cheongsa-ro
Seo-gu, Daejeon, 35208
Phone: 82-42-481-5073
Fax: 82-42-472-3459
E-mail: kipoicd@kipo.go.kr
www.kipo.go.kr

IP registration costs

Fees associated with registration of IP rights in South Korea are available in the fee calculator.