IP Chambers
About IP Chambers
- History
- Jurisdiction
- Civil Chambers
- Criminal Chambers
- Law Clerks &
Technical Investigation Officers - Statistics
- As the Civil Procedure Act (hereinafter referred to as CPA) was wholly amended on January 26, 2002 and the article 24 about the specialized jurisdiction of a district court over IP cases was newly inserted. It provides that a lawsuit concerning an intellectual property right may be brought to a district court in the jurisdictional area of a high court which has jurisdiction over the location of a competent court. Pursuant to newly inserted provision, the Seoul Central District Court (formerly, the Seoul District Court) in the jurisdictional area of the Seoul High Court is also vested with jurisdiction over IP cases. After the act came into effect, the number of IP cases brought into the Seoul Central District Court has been increasing.
- After the Court Organization Act and the CPA regarding jurisdiction over IP cases were amended and came into effect on December 21, 2015 and January 1, 2016 respectively, the Seoul Cental District Court has ‘nationwide exclusive jurisdiction (including concurrent jurisdiction)’ over a patent right, utility model right, design right, trademark right and plant variety right. Since then, the court had to hear a large flow of IP cases.
- To handle with growing number of IP related cases, the Seoul Central District Court reformed workload assignment among judges in February 2017. Through the reform, the court reorganized and expanded trial chambers dedicated to IP cases. Specifically, a specialized chamber of three judges was newly set up to hear only motions for IP provisional disposition and at the same time other three trial chambers were converted into exclusive trial chambers for IP cases (herein after referred to as ‘exclusive IP trial chamber’). The trial chamber of single judge for IP cases (excluding copyrights) was abolished, however the exclusive IP trial chamber would hear civil cases on the merits relating to IP regardless of litigation value.
- To enhance capability of the exclusive IP trial chambers, one of them has been specially charged with three presiding judges having more than 15 years of experience as a judge, and most of copyright cases are handled by the exclusive IP chamber from February 2019.
- Therefore, Exclusive IP trial chamber of the Seoul Central District Court were reorganized into 4 trial chambers; the 60th Civil Chamber of Three Judges which hears motion for provisional disposition regarding intellectual property (including some IP civil cases on the merits); and three trial chambers of three judges (Civil Chamber 60, Civil Chamber 62, and Civil Chamber 63-1, 63-2, 63-3 which only hear civil cases of intellectual property.
- The Seoul Central District Court truly succeeded in reorganizing 「Exclusive IP Trial Chambers」 and establishing itself as the first instance trial court for IP cases.
- Legal grounds
Civil Procedure Act (CPA)
Article 24 Special Forum for Intellectual Property Rights, etc.
(1) A lawsuit concerning an intellectual property right, excluding a patent right, utility model right, design right, trademark right and plant variety right (hereinafter referred to as “patent right, etc.”), or an international transaction may be brought to a district court in the jurisdictional area of a high court which has jurisdiction over the location of a competent court pursuant to Articles 2 through 23: Provided, That a district court in the jurisdictional area of Seoul High Court shall be limited to Seoul Central District Court.
(2) A lawsuit concerning an intellectual property right, such as a patent right, shall be under the exclusive jurisdiction of a district court in the jurisdictional area of a high court which has jurisdiction over the location of a competent court pursuant to Articles 2 through 23: Provided, That a district court in the jurisdictional area of Seoul High Court shall be limited to Seoul Central District Court.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a party may bring a lawsuit concerning an intellectual property right, such as a patent right, to Seoul Central District Court.※ The above provision is applied to all civil cases on the merits whether the case is heard by a single judge or a three-judge panel.
- A patent right, utility model right, design right, trademark right and plant variety right [Article 24(2) and (3) of CPA]
exclusive
jurisdictionSeoul Central District Court, Suwon District court, Daejeon District Court, Daegu District Court, Busan District Court, Gwangju District court selective &
concurrent
jurisdictionSeoul Central District Court ex) courts where the plaintiff may file the complaint
- If A, living in Jeonju and arguing his trademark right is infringed by B, wants to file a claim for damages against B residing in Cheongju,:· The complaint may be brought to the Daejeon District Court in the jurisdictional area of the Daejeon High Court which has jurisdiction over Chengju where the defendant's general forum is located.· It may be filed to the Gwangju District Court in the jurisdiction area of the Gwangju High Court which has jurisdiction over Jeonju where obligation shall be performed.· or, the Seoul District Court· The compliant shall NOT be brought to the Jeonju District Court or the Cheongju District Court. - civil actions only relating to copyright, unfair competition, and trade secret protection [Article 24(1) of CPA]
non-exclusive jurisdiction
& concurrent jurisdictionSeoul Central District Court, Suwon District Court, Daejeon District Court, Daegue District Court, Busan District Court, Gwangju District Court ex) courts where the plaintiff may file the complaint
- If A, living in Incheon and arguing his copyright is infringed by B, wants to file a claim for damages against B living in Cheongju, the below forums are all available.:· Chengju District Court where the defendant general forum is located· Incheon District Court where obligation shall be performed· Daejeon District Court in the jurisdictional area of the Daejeon High Court which has jurisdiction over Chengju· Seoul Central District Court in the jurisdiction of a high court which has jurisdiction over Incheon
2. Application for Provisional Disposition
- Regarding application for provisional disposition such as preliminary injunction, the court having jurisdiction over cases on the merits has exclusive jurisdiction(Article 21 of Civil Execution Act). And it is not mandatory to file a case on the merits before provisional application.
- For criminal cases, statutory provisions on territorial jurisdiction of the Criminal Procedure Act shall be applied.
- cases under exclusive jurisdiction of the Patent Court of Korea
- appellate cases over a patent right, utility model right, design right, trademark right and plant variety right (Article 28-4, subparagraph 2 of the Court Organization Act, Article 24(2) and (3) of CPA)
- revocation of rulings or decisions by Korean Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (first instance trial)
- cases under a high court's appellate jurisdiction according to the Act on the Establishment and Jurisdiction of Courts of Various Levels.
- civil or criminal appellate cases except cases related to ‘patent right, etc’
- appeal of decisions on application for provisional disposition
1. Jurisdiction and Workload Assignment
- Civil matters relevant to a patent right, utility model right, design right, trademark right and plant variety right
- Other intellectual property cases
- General copyright case could be heard before a single judge panel unless there are exceptional circumstances, for example, a judge of the trial chamber and a legal representative of either parties of the case have personal relationship.
- Only IP cases are assigned to Civil Trial Chamber.
| Civil Chamber 60 | Civil Chamber 61 | Civil Chamber 62 | Civil Chamber 63- 1, 2, 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| civil cases on the merits & provisional disposition cases |
civil cases on the merits (including International Cases) |
civil cases on the merits (including International Cases) |
civil cases on the merits (including International Cases) [Three-Presiding-Judge Panel] |
| 82-2-3415-3355 | 82-2-530-2677 | 82-2-530-1735 | 82-2-530-1736 |
1. first instance cases (single judge panel)
- Criminal Chamber 3
- Criminal Chamber 5
- Criminal Chamber 15
- Criminal Chamber 18
- Criminal Chamber 19
- Criminal Chamber 23
2. appellate cases (three judge panel)
- Criminal Chamber 5-1, 5-2, 5-3 [Three-Presiding-Judge panel]
- Criminal Chamber 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 [Three-Presiding-Judge panel]
- civil trial chamber
- Civil Chamber 63-1, 2, 3: 2 law clerks
- criminal chamber
- Criminal Chamber 5-1, 2, 3: 2 law clerks
- Criminal Chamber 8-1, 2, 3: 2 law clerks
2. Technical Investigation Officers (as of July 2020)
- Legal Grounds for Technical Investigation Officer
Court Organization Act
Article 54-3 (Investigation Officers)
(1) Investigation officers may be placed in the Supreme Court and each court.
(2) Investigation officers shall collect and investigate data necessary for the judgement on the cases provided by other Acts or the Supreme Court Regulations under the order of judicial officers and perform other necessary duties.
(3) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may request other government agencies to dispatch public officials under their control to the court to serve as investigation officers. - the Number of Technical Investigation Officers of the Seoul Central District court (total: 11 officers)
- electrical/ electronic/ optical/ communication: 4 officers (including one dispatched by the Korean Intellectual Property Office)
- machinery/ construction/ metal: 3 officers
- chemical/ chemical engineering/ pharmaceutical/ material engineering: 4 officers (including one dispatched by the Korean Intellectual Property Office)
- Trial Chambers Where Technical Investigation Officers Support Judicial Services
- exclusive IP trial chambers of the Seoul Central District Court
- IP chambers of the Seoul Central District Court [Criminal Chamber, Civil Chamber for Appeal, Civil Chamber for Single Judges]
- other courts
- IP chambers of the Seoul High Court- IP chambers of other courts- When other courts request support of Technical Investigation Officers for their judicial services, it should be provided them with the approval of the chief presiding judge of Civil Division 2.
- Cases Where Technical Investigation Officers Participating In
- In principle, Technical Investigation Officer takes part in cases of infringement of patent right, utility model right, design right, trademark right and plant variety right.
- At the request of chambers, they may review and examine cases related to compensation for employee’s invention, unfair competition, and trade secret protection.
- Technical Investigation Officers with expertise in their field become a pillar of complicate IP trial as they closely collaborate and communicate with judges and trial chambers following 「Desirable Collaborate Model for Judges of Exclusive IP Division and Technical Investigation Officers」enacted on June 24, 2020.
- After the jurisdiction reform, the number of IP civil cases filed to Seoul Central District Court increased from 380 in 2015 to 520 in 2016. The number soared to 650 in 2017 when IP civil cases were assigned to Exclusive IP Trial Chambers. In 2018, the number of cases downed to 570 while it went up to 680 in 2019.
- When it comes to Provisional Disposition case, the Civil Chamber 60 handled 234 cases in 2017, 234 in 2018 and 263 in 2019.
- Civil disputes over intellectual property are also addressed through reconciliation or mediation. Including civil cases on the merits and provisional applications, the success rate of reconciliation and mediation stood at 16% in 2017, 20% in 2018, and 17% in 2019. The Seoul Central District Court also collaborates with Korea Copyright Commission to settle disputes over copyrights out of court.