Someone in Korea Is Copying My Brand — IP Enforcement Options for Foreign Companies

Discovering a copycat of your brand in Korea is unsettling — but Korean law gives foreign companies more enforcement options than most expect. A lookalike product on a Korean marketplace, packaging that mirrors yours shelf-ready, or — the version that worries clients most — someone quietly filing your brand name as their Korean trademark. I see each of these regularly in my practice. What follows is a plain-English map of your options, and the one question that decides which of them are open to you.

Can I take action without a Korean trademark registration?

Korea is a first-to-file country. Trademark rights here come from registration with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), not from use. Years of use in your home market, by themselves, create no Korean trademark right — which is why the copycat problem and the "someone registered my brand" problem so often arrive together.

If you hold a Korean registration, the full toolkit described below is available to you. If you do not, you are not defenseless. Korea's Unfair Competition Prevention Act fills part of the gap: it prohibits passing off that causes confusion with a mark well known in Korea, imitation of another company's product form as a "dead copy" (within three years of the original's first sale), and, through a catch-all clause, free-riding on the business achievements of others. These routes are real and I use them — but each requires proving facts (recognition in Korea, the timeline of your product's release) that a registration certificate simply replaces. And if someone has filed your brand at KIPO, Korean trademark law provides grounds to oppose a pending application or invalidate a bad-faith registration, particularly where the filer knew of your brand or had a business relationship with you.

The practical takeaway comes first, not last: whatever enforcement you pursue this year, file your own Korean applications now, so that next year's enforcement is easier.

What enforcement options do I actually have?

Think of it as five doors, usually opened in combination rather than one at a time.

A warning letter is often the first move — many disputes end here. But timing is strategic: a letter sent too early can prompt the other side to destroy evidence, offload inventory, or rush their own filings. Secure your evidence before you announce yourself.

Civil action gives you an injunction — a court order to stop the infringing use and dispose of infringing goods — under Article 107 of the Trademark Act. Korean courts also grant preliminary injunctions, which can halt an infringer's sales while the main case proceeds.

Damages are more accessible than foreign companies assume. The Trademark Act contains presumption provisions that ease the burden of proving your loss, and for willful infringement, Article 110 now allows courts to award up to five times the assessed damages.

Criminal enforcement is a distinctive strength of the Korean system. Trademark infringement is a crime punishable by up to seven years of imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 100 million under Article 230 of the Trademark Act, and a well-prepared criminal complaint moves counterfeiters in a way a civil letter rarely does.

Marketplace takedowns handle the everyday volume. Korean platforms operate intellectual-property reporting programs, and a registration certificate typically gets infringing listings removed quickly — often the fastest visible result you will see.

Where does Korean customs fit in?

If the copies are manufactured abroad and shipped into Korea, the border is your friend. Under Article 235 of the Customs Act, goods infringing trademark rights may not be imported or exported, and rights holders can record their registered marks with the Korea Customs Service. Once recorded, customs can suspend clearance of suspected counterfeits and notify you, letting you stop goods before they ever reach the Korean market. For brands fighting recurring counterfeit imports, recordation is one of the highest-leverage steps available.

What should I do in the first two weeks?

First, preserve evidence: purchase the infringing product (a notarized purchase is stronger), capture dated screenshots of listings, and archive the pages before anything changes. Second, run a search on KIPRIS — Korea's free trademark database with an English interface — to see exactly what the other side has filed or registered, and what you have not. Third, resist the urge to fire off an angry message; sequence matters more than speed. Fourth, have Korean counsel map the routes above against your facts — in most real cases the answer is a combination, such as customs recordation plus a criminal complaint, or a takedown campaign running alongside an invalidation trial.

One reassurance in closing: all of this can be handled from abroad. Foreign companies act through a Korean attorney under a power of attorney, and enforcement rarely requires anyone to board a plane. If someone in Korea is trading on the brand you built, you can reach me in English through the contact form at lawyerseoul.com — the earlier the evidence is secured, the more options stay open.

한국어 요약

이 글은 한국에서 브랜드를 도용당한 외국 기업이 쓸 수 있는 법적 대응 수단을 정리한 안내입니다. 한국은 선출원주의 국가이므로, 한국 내 상표등록의 유무가 대응 수단의 폭을 크게 좌우합니다. 등록상표가 있으면 경고장과 금지가처분, 손해배상(고의 침해 시 최대 5배), 형사 고소, 세관 국경조치까지 함께 쓸 수 있습니다. 등록이 없더라도 부정경쟁방지법의 혼동초래행위·상품형태 모방·성과도용 조항으로 대응할 길이 열려 있습니다. 저는 상담 전에 외국 기업이 증거 확보와 키프리스 조회를 먼저 마친 뒤, 민사·형사·세관 경로를 조합해 설계하시기를 권해 드립니다.

If you need help enforcing your brand in Korea, you can contact me in English at lawyerseoul.com.

Jaewon Lee, Attorney at Law (Joye Law)

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