Legal Nature of Consent to Coexistence under theTrademark Law: Focusing on the Revised Trademark Law Promulgated on October 31, 2023

The revised Trademark Law allows an applicant to obtain trademark registration even if the applied-for trademark is identical or similar to a prior registered trademark, provided that a coexistence agreement is submitted from the rightholder of the prior registration. Revealing the rightholder’s int...

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Main Authors: Youngtaeg Nam, Jiseon Yoo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Korea Institute of Intellectual Property 2024-06-01
Series:Journal of Intellectual Property
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jip.or.kr/1902-01/
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author Youngtaeg Nam
Jiseon Yoo
author_facet Youngtaeg Nam
Jiseon Yoo
author_sort Youngtaeg Nam
collection DOAJ
description The revised Trademark Law allows an applicant to obtain trademark registration even if the applied-for trademark is identical or similar to a prior registered trademark, provided that a coexistence agreement is submitted from the rightholder of the prior registration. Revealing the rightholder’s intent for coexistence to the Intellectual Property Office through the agreement should be considered a public legal act because the intent is expressed to an administrative body for the purpose of an administrative action, namely, the registration of the trademark. If there are defects in the declaration of intent between private parties, civil law provisions are applicable, allowing for cancellation. However, the provisions of civil law regarding defects are not applicable to the declaration of coexistence consent by the rightholder due to its legal nature and specific relationship with the administrative body. The effectiveness of the coexistence agreement is determined on externally and objectively manifested indications. Nevertheless, if the defects are substantial and externally clear, they may serve as grounds for registration refusal or as a basis for a trial to invalidate the registration.
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spelling doaj-art-e0da445659de41be90ec86f1445a721e2025-08-20T02:28:36ZengKorea Institute of Intellectual PropertyJournal of Intellectual Property1975-59452733-84872024-06-0119212610.34122/jip.2024.19.2.1Legal Nature of Consent to Coexistence under theTrademark Law: Focusing on the Revised Trademark Law Promulgated on October 31, 2023Youngtaeg Nam0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7995-5365Jiseon Yoo1Director, Korean Intellectual Property Office, Trademark Examination Policy Division, Republic of KoreaDeputy Director, Korean Intellectual Property Office, Trademark Examination Policy Division, Republic of KoreaThe revised Trademark Law allows an applicant to obtain trademark registration even if the applied-for trademark is identical or similar to a prior registered trademark, provided that a coexistence agreement is submitted from the rightholder of the prior registration. Revealing the rightholder’s intent for coexistence to the Intellectual Property Office through the agreement should be considered a public legal act because the intent is expressed to an administrative body for the purpose of an administrative action, namely, the registration of the trademark. If there are defects in the declaration of intent between private parties, civil law provisions are applicable, allowing for cancellation. However, the provisions of civil law regarding defects are not applicable to the declaration of coexistence consent by the rightholder due to its legal nature and specific relationship with the administrative body. The effectiveness of the coexistence agreement is determined on externally and objectively manifested indications. Nevertheless, if the defects are substantial and externally clear, they may serve as grounds for registration refusal or as a basis for a trial to invalidate the registration.https://jip.or.kr/1902-01/coexistence agreement2023 trademark law amendmentslegal nature of coexistence agreementlegal effect of defective coexistence agreementprivate acts in public lawinternational examples of coexistence agreement
spellingShingle Youngtaeg Nam
Jiseon Yoo
Legal Nature of Consent to Coexistence under theTrademark Law: Focusing on the Revised Trademark Law Promulgated on October 31, 2023
Journal of Intellectual Property
coexistence agreement
2023 trademark law amendments
legal nature of coexistence agreement
legal effect of defective coexistence agreement
private acts in public law
international examples of coexistence agreement
title Legal Nature of Consent to Coexistence under theTrademark Law: Focusing on the Revised Trademark Law Promulgated on October 31, 2023
title_full Legal Nature of Consent to Coexistence under theTrademark Law: Focusing on the Revised Trademark Law Promulgated on October 31, 2023
title_fullStr Legal Nature of Consent to Coexistence under theTrademark Law: Focusing on the Revised Trademark Law Promulgated on October 31, 2023
title_full_unstemmed Legal Nature of Consent to Coexistence under theTrademark Law: Focusing on the Revised Trademark Law Promulgated on October 31, 2023
title_short Legal Nature of Consent to Coexistence under theTrademark Law: Focusing on the Revised Trademark Law Promulgated on October 31, 2023
title_sort legal nature of consent to coexistence under thetrademark law focusing on the revised trademark law promulgated on october 31 2023
topic coexistence agreement
2023 trademark law amendments
legal nature of coexistence agreement
legal effect of defective coexistence agreement
private acts in public law
international examples of coexistence agreement
url https://jip.or.kr/1902-01/
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AT jiseonyoo legalnatureofconsenttocoexistenceunderthetrademarklawfocusingontherevisedtrademarklawpromulgatedonoctober312023