Trademark Act Violation Case | After Representing the Victim in Filing a Complaint for Trademark Act Violation, the Defendant Was Sentenced to a Fine

The account that the client gave when visiting Daeryun is as follows.

The client was the head of a one-person business that designed bags himself and handled their distribution as well.

He also designed the trademarks placed on the bags himself, and they began to attract considerable interest.

In the meantime, the client learned that a competitor was selling products bearing a trademark very similar to his own.

Because it was so similar that it was not easy to distinguish from the client's trademark in appearance, it seemed likely to be mistaken for a product of the client's company unless examined closely.

The client wished to take legal action against the competitor and requested that Daeryun represent him in filing a complaint.

A ‘trademark’ is a type of mark used to distinguish one's own goods from the products of others.

The ‘Trademark Act’ is a law enacted to grant an exclusive right to use a trademark and to protect the income of the trademark holder and the trust of consumers.

In the case above, the charge that may apply to the competitor depends on whether the client ‘holds a trademark right.’

If the client has registered the trademark and holds a trademark right, it constitutes infringement of the trademark right.

However, if the trademark has not been registered, it may be punishable as a violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act.

A lawsuit for trademark right infringement proceeds after the similarity of the marks and the likelihood of confusion are confirmed.

A notable feature is that even indirect borrowing, rather than direct use, may be subject to punishment.

The court determines whether a trademark right has been infringed based on factors such as (1) the similarity of the trademarks, (2) the similarity of the goods, and (3) trademark use.

Before the criminal complaint, Daeryun advised the client of a preliminary measure called a ‘certified content notice.’

A certified content notice may be sent containing the facts of the unlawful act, a request to cease that act, and content regarding matters such as payment of damages.

If the accused does not comply with the request, the certified content notice may serve as important material for proving intent in the lawsuit.

※ hereClicking will take you to legal information on how to respond to a certified content notice for trademark right infringement, provided by a Daeryun intellectual property attorney.

In the course of representing the client in filing the complaint, Daeryun carefully analyzed the competitor's unlawful act and made the following arguments.

■ By submitting as evidence that there were consumers who actually saw the competitor's trademark and purchased products mistaking them for the client's, Daeryun argued that the degree of similarity was substantial.

■ Daeryun argued that the trademark right had been registered for the trademark in question and that the client's period of use also long predated that of the competitor.

Caution is required, because arbitrarily suspecting trademark misappropriation and sending a warning letter or making contact on the ground of a Trademark Act violation may, conversely, result in the recognition of a charge of interference with business, turning the sender into an offender.

Because the legal reasoning surrounding a Trademark Act violation is complex and the issues involved are varied, it is advantageous to obtain the help of an attorney specializing in this field.

At Daeryun, multiple intellectual property attorneys form a team to provide legal assistance for a single client.

If you are facing difficulties due to a competitor's misappropriation of your trademark, you are welcome to visit Daeryun Law Firm at any time.