South Korea: Patent

As cross-border licensing and settlement agreements become increasingly common and tax authorities intensify scrutiny of license fees, royalty payments, and other similar consideration (Royalties), understanding how Royalty payments are sourced for tax purposes is critical.

South Korea will enforce punitive damages in case of breach of trademark and design rights in order to further ensure the protection of knowledge- based intangible assets.

In its unanimous decision rendered on August 12, 2001, the Korean Supreme Court reversed the infamous "Chevron" case decided in 1985. Specifically, in Nissan Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha v. LG Chemicals Co., Ltd. (Supreme Court Case No. 98 Hu 522), the Supreme Court held that a junior chemical process invention which utilizes all of the elements constituting a senior patented invention and adds a catalyst to obtain superior results still falls within the scope of the earlier patent, overturnin