To protect Korean brands (K-brands), the Korea Customs Office and the Korean Intellectual Property Office will cooperate with customs offices in foreign countries. (Image : Wikimedia)
SEJONG, Feb.24 (Korea Bizwire) – To protect Korean brands (K-brands), the Korea Customs Office and the Korean Intellectual Property Office will cooperate with customs offices in foreign countries.
The Korea Customs Office and the Korean Intellectual Property Office held their first policy meeting this year, and discussed cooperative ways on how to prevent fake imitations of Korean brands from spreading.
According to the organizations, cooperation with customs offices in foreign countries has proven to be effective in cracking down on imitation K-brand products.
Last year, fake K-brand products worth $1.4 million were confiscated in Hong-Kong, which was more than 13 times higher than the previous year ($110,000).
Imitations of Korean cosmetics worth 500 million won were also seized in Thailand.
Various measures are being taken to prevent these crimes, with officials noting that 112 pieces of intellectual property belonging to Korean businesses were registered at the Chinese customs office last year.
The Korea Customs Office and the Korean Intellectual Property Office decided to exchange information with customs officials in foreign countries on a regular basis, and are now sharing information on intellectual property violations.
Korean officials also plan to provide local public workers with more information on imitations of Korean brands that are distributed domestically, and invite public workers at foreign customs offices to take advantage of opportunities to exchange information with Korean businesses.
Guidelines to deal with fake imitations will be established in cooperation with the American, European, and Japanese customs offices, and manuals outlining new policies and methods to register intellectual property will be distributed to Korean companies.
Officials emphasize that registering intellectual property with foreign customs offices plays a very important role in cracking down on fake K-brand products. “The Korean Intellectual Property Office is offering financial support to help companies register their intellectual property. We hope many businesses will register, and prevent their rights from being violated.”
By M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
