메뉴 열기
메뉴 닫기
메뉴 닫기

Recent Developments

|
|
[Aju News] [Legal Update] “Stop Technology Theft”… Quintuple Punitive Damages Allowed for Trade Secret Misappropriation
On February 13, 2024, Aju News shared in its news article Lee & Ko’s attorney Mr. Un Ho Kim’s remark on a recent update regarding the Act on the Prevention of Unfair Competition and Protection of Trade Secrets.  Mr. Kim explained that, with proposed amendments to the Act now passed at the Cabinet meeting, “businesses should be mindful that damages awarded in intellectual property cases could increase significantly and so is the possibility of criminal punishment, and should establish meticulous measures to prevent infringement of intellectual property rights.”  He further commented, “in the event of an intellectual property dispute, the right holder needs to actively utilize the relevant provisions in the Act.”
2024.02.13
[Forbes] [ANNUAL BRIEF 2004] Interview | Jaewoo Kwak, Partner, Lee & Ko
Forbes reported an interview with Jaewoo Kwak, a partner of Lee & Ko on January 23, 2024. In the interview, Mr. Kwak, a lawyer specializing in intellectual property rights, stated that although there are currently few cases related to AI worldwide, there will be more in the future. He discussed the intellectual property market for various industries including electronics, materials, chemicals, machinery, automobiles, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology. He also addressed copyright issues related to AI and predicted the trends in laws and regulations governing AI use.
2024.01.23
[Chosun Biz][Law Firm Practice Skills] Lee & Ko Protects Boryung Pharmaceutical’s Right in Hypertension Treatment with KRW 50 Billion in Sales
On January 8, 2024, Chosun Biz reported Lee & Ko’s recent win for Boryung Pharmaceutical, noting that “as the efficacy of Dukarb®, Boryung’s hypertension drug, went viral, it became the target of other Korean pharmaceutical companies” but “Boryung has defended its Dukarb® patent all the way from the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board stage to the ensuing trials, with Lee & Ko’s Healthcare Practice Group, led by Ms. Keum Nang Park, playing a key role in the defense.”  Ms. Park remarked in an interview that “this is the first time a Korean pharmaceutical company that has developed an original drug defended its patent rights in a large-scale dispute against multiple generic companies,” further noting that “we felt that this drug should be afforded patent protection especially since it was a new drug developed after many challenges in Korea, where new drug R&D is still rare.”
2024.01.08
[Hankyung] Lee & Ko Prevails in All 10 Lawsuits Relating to Boryung Pharmaceutical’s Ducarb® Patent
On December 5, 2023, Hankyung reported Lee & Ko’s recent win in the lawsuits involving Boryung Pharmaceutical’s combination drug patent related to Ducarb®, Boryung’s blockbuster drug.  Representing the patentee, Lee & Ko won in all 10 cases, which included patent invalidation actions and negative scope confirmation actions.  Lee & Ko’s team, with attorneys Keum Nang Park, Heon Lee and Eunkyoung Lyu and patent attorneys Tae Min Kim and Sungmin Cho, strategically crafted arguments based on sound and in-depth analysis of legal theories, ultimately securing this victory.
2023.12.05
[NEWS1] The Korean Intellectual Property Office and the National Assembly Discuss the Introduction of “K-Discovery” for Technology Protection
On September 13, 2023, News1 published an article on Lee & Ko attorney Hwan Sung Park’s panel participation in an upcoming debate to be held by the National Assembly. At the “National Assembly Debate Forum on Introducing K-Discovery for Patent Infringement Litigation,” to be held by the National Assembly and Korean Intellectual Property Office on September 14, Mr. Park, drawing on his years of hands-on experience, will present his opinions on issues relating to the proposed discovery system, including ways for minimizing leak of trade secret information in the course of factual investigation of experts and for excluding legal opinions from the scope of such expert investigation.
2023.09.13
[Korea Economic Daily] Law Firms Organizing 'Coin-related Crime TF' in Response to the Prosecution’s Virtual Assets Crime Joint Investigation Team
On July 23, 2023, Lee & Ko’s Virtual Assets Investigation Response Team, led by Mr. Kwang Bae Park, was featured in the Korea Economic Daily. The Korea Economic Daily reported that “Lee & Ko plans to incorporate the Virtual Assets Investigation Response TF into the official structure as the Virtual Assets Investigation Response Team, as early as the end of this month,” and “assign leading lawyers in the field of virtual assets from the existing criminal and digital finance teams.”
2023.07.23
[EDAILY] Lee&Ko Hosts Joint Seminar With Japanese Law Firm AIK on ‘Recent Developments in Japanese IP Practice’
On July 3, 2023, EDAILY reported that Lee&Ko hosted a seminar in collaboration with the Japanese law firm Abe, Ikubo & Katayama (AIK) on June 29, 2023. The seminar focused on ‘Recent Developments in Japanese IP Practice.’ AIK presented the latest developments in intellectual property (IP) in Japan, followed by a discussion on related issues in Korea led by Lee&Ko. In particular, Eiji Katayama, a managing partner at AIK, attended the seminar to share insights into the background behind the introduction of the “Business Court” in Japan and the examination model used for patent infringement cases.
2023.07.03
[Aju Business Daily] [Evolving Spear and Shield, “Forensics” Part 2] Law Firms Enhancing Their Capabilities on “Anti-forensics”… Gearing Up for Future Business Opportunities
On June 12, 2023, Aju Business Daily reported that Lee & Ko’s digital forensics capabilities have enhanced. The article noted that “Lee & Ko is equipped with major digital forensic investigation platforms and analytical tools, such as X-ways, Axiom (a forensics analysis software) and Intella, to enable the law firm to quickly analyze and gather digital evidence. It further noted that “Lee & Ko has ‘Trade Secret & Technology Leak Dispute Team’ consisting of about 120 professionals and is actively responding to trade secret disputes of not only local but also overseas businesses.”
2023.06.12
[Law Times] Kim Un-Ho, a partner of IP Practice Group at Lee & Ko, appointed as the Chairman of the Korean Intellectual Property Lawyers’ Association (KIPLA)
Kim Un-Ho, a partner of Lee & Ko, has been appointed as the chairman of the Korean Intellectual Property Lawyers’ Association (KIPLA), published by the Law Times on February 14, 2023.  The Law Times said that Mr. Kim as “a lawyer with expertise in the intellectual property law has made a significant contribution to establishing new legal principles in the IP rights area, having actively engaged and advised in diverse landmark cases including the smartphone patent wars between Samsung and Apple, elastomer patent litigation between LG Chem and Mitsui Chemicals, trademark fight between Lacoste and Crocodile which is well-known as ‘Crocodile Battle,’ and unfair competition prevention case for Haeundae Amso Galbi (Korean beef ribs) restaurant.”  Meanwhile, Kwak Jaewoo who is a partner of Lee & Ko was also appointed as the secretary general of KIPLA.
2023.02.14
[Legal Times] [IP Law] Lee & Ko's IP Practice Group Hosted Seminar on Latest Trends in IP Court Precedents, Selection Inventions, Software Programs and Metaverse
On January 4, 2023, Legal Times published a detailed report on Lee & Ko’s seminar entitled “Changes in Intellectual Property Landscape in 2022 and Responses,” which was hosted by the firm’s IP Practice Group on December 1, 2022.  Noting that “Lee & Ko’s IP Practice Group’s seminar series marks its 8th anniversary and is a forum for identifying overall trends in intellectual property law and discussing how to respond to these changes in practice,” Legal Times provided a summary of the major topics for each session. 
2023.01.04
[Legal Times] [IP] “Coway Found Not to Infringe ChungHo Nais’s ‘Ice Water Purifier Patent’”
On July 21, 2022, Legal Times reported Lee & Ko’s recent win in a patent infringement lawsuit involving an ice water purifier patent.  The article noted that “Lee & Ko secured a victory for Coway in injunction and compensation for damages litigation at the appellate level and prevailed on all claims, reversing the decision by the court of first instance.”  The victory was the result of meticulous analysis by Lee & Ko’s Intellectual Property Practice Group, which carefully reviewed all related materials from various lawsuits between the companies that took place over the past eight years, to accurately identify relevant technical features of the asserted patent and Coway’s product and to develop legal arguments based on such technical differences.  This led to a robust and persuasive showing of the differences between ChungHo Nais’s asserted patent and Coway’s product, paving the way to the victory.
2022.07.21
[Chosun Biz] [Law Firm's Technology] The First Case to Admit a Domestic Pharmaceutical Company’s Patent Infringement Claim under the Doctrine of Equivalents... Lee & Ko’s Landmark Success in Protecting Boryung’s Original Hypertension Drug
On May 4, 2022, Lee & Ko Healthcare Team’s successful winning of the case for defending Boryung Pharmaceutical’s patent relating to Ducarb®, a domestic blockbuster drug, against a generic company’s challenge was introduced by Chosun Biz as well as Korea Economic Daily.

Chosun Biz said, “As this trial decision is not only the primary case where a Korean pharmaceutical company held off a large-scale generic drug company’s challenge against an original drug but also the first case in which such Korean pharm company’s patent infringement claim under DOE was admitted, the industry now closely pays attention to this case in that the IPTAB(Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board) may also follow the standard of this trial decision in the remaining trials for 40 other companies.”
 
2022.05.04