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PUBLICATIONS
[Trademark Essentials for Marketers, 2020]
Essential Korean trademark practices tailored for working-level staff — by a trademark attorney with 19 years of hands-on experience.
[Build Your Brand with Patents, 2022]
Expert insights on securing patents strategies through open tech.
[Surviving as a Brand on Earth: Global Trademark Battles (2025)]
How did other Korean companies overcome trademark challenges abroad? Here’s a casebook based on 19 years of real-world experience handling global trademark disputes.
Notable Success Cases
Successful Invalidation and Domain Recovery : Baidu Case
A Korean individual registered the “BAIDU” trademark in 2008 and secured the domains baidu.co.kr and baidu.kr, mimicking the well-known Chinese tech brand. Despite Baidu’s earlier global use and trademark registrations since 1999, the infringing mark remained active in Korea.
Represented by Sarang IP Law Firm, Baidu filed a trademark invalidation action, arguing prior use and reputation in China and Korea. In 2021, the Korean Patent Court ruled in favor of Baidu, invalidating the trademark with retroactive effect due to the registrant’s bad faith.
Following this victory, Sarang IP also filed a domain dispute complaint on Baidu’s behalf.
The panel concluded the domain registrations were made in bad faith and lacked any legitimate interest. As a result, the domains were ordered to be cancelled. Baidu successfully re-registered the domains under its own name.
Successful Trademark Acquisition of “Medi-Peel” in China
In 2018, Skinidea Co., Ltd. urgently needed to secure the “Medi-Peel” trademark in China to finalize a major contract with a top Chinese distributor.
However, the existence of an identical prior registration made the situation difficult. Skinidea filed a new trademark application along with a non-use cancellation action, but the entire process was expected to take more than 18 months.
Facing a business-critical moment, Sarang IP Law Firm advised a bold alternative: acquiring the prior mark directly. Despite difficulties locating the trademark owner—whose agent had gone out of business—Sarang IP successfully tracked down the owner with help from local partners. Sarang led all negotiations, persistently worked to reduce the initial asking price, and ultimately finalized the deal on-site in Guangzhou through a local patent attorney.
Thanks to this strategic move, Skinidea secured full rights in the core cosmetics category.
After obtaining the trademark, Skinidea quickly expanded in China—doubling annual sales and achieving tenfold growth within three years, with over half from the Chinese market.
Recent Case Victory: Successful Securing Trademark Rights for Doowon in India and Europe
Sarang IP recently secured a major win for Doowon Precision Industry Co., Ltd. in trademark opposition proceedings in India and Europe regarding Class 7 compressors.
Doowon has been manufacturing automotive air-conditioning compressors since 1991, supplying both affiliates and global carmakers.
The dispute arose when an affiliate attempted to preempt the “DOOWON” trademark, creating significant legal complications.
A key issue was whether the DOOWON mark, affixed to the compressors, could be considered a trademark for the compressors themselves.
Sarang IP argued that even if a component is part of a larger system, it constitutes an independent product in commerce if it is sold and distributed separately. Therefore, the use of the mark on such components qualifies as genuine trademark use.
The Indian tribunal ultimately accepted this argument, recognizing Doowon’s legitimate trademark rights over its compressors.
Successful Defending Korean Brand “the potions” in EU Trademark Opposition
Recently, Sarang IP Law Firm represented Hipbrands Inc., a Korean cosmetics company, in defending its EU trademark application for a stylized “P” logo against opposition by a Danish company. The opposition claimed likelihood of confusion due to visual and phonetic similarities between the marks for identical goods in Class 3 (cosmetics).
Sarang IP and its European partner strategically argued that the stylized “P” design was visually distinct and conceptually neutral, significantly differing from the prior mark. They emphasized that in the cosmetics market, visual perception is key, and that a single letter or number in itself has low distinctiveness.
The Board of Appeal agreed, holding that the visual and structural differences outweighed any phonetic overlap, and ruled that there was no likelihood of confusion. The appeal was dismissed in full, and the opponent was ordered to bear the full costs of the proceedings. Hipbrands Inc.’s mark was successfully maintained in the EU.
Strategic IP Enforcement Against Counterfeits of “Shelton” Golf Swing Trainer
The “Shelton” golf swing trainer, developed by a leading golf brand, gained popularity in Korea due to its simple design and affordability.
After similar, low-quality copies emerged in China, the real issue began when Chinese counterfeit products were sold to Korean consumers via platforms like Taobao. Although domestic IP protection was robust, Shelton had only one utility model registration based on an early prototype and no trademark registration in China. Sarang IP advised registering key product photos for copyright protection for immediate actions. Three photos from the official product page were strategically selected and registered for copyright in China. Sarang IP also obtained a utility model valuation and filed infringement complaints with Taobao and Tmall. Both platforms accepted the copyright claims and removed the counterfeit listings. Further, to prevent future imports, the company registered the trademark in China and later filed it with Chinese customs for border enforcement. In parallel, they also registered the trademark with Korean customs to block imports of counterfeit goods.
Victory in Series of Design Invalidation Actions and Criminal Case
When Bygami Co., Ltd. accused a copycat competitor of design infringement, the accused party retaliated by filing multiple invalidation actions against Bygami’s registered ring designs.
Sarang IP Law Firm represented Bygami and successfully defended all six design registrations, proving the originality and distinctiveness of each design despite overlapping visual elements with preexisting works. The Intellectual Property Tribunal consistently ruled in Bygami’s favor, recognizing the novelty and creativity of its jewelry designs.
In parallel, Sarang IP submitted a detailed legal opinion to the police in the related criminal case, clarifying the scope of design protection and reinforcing the legitimacy of Bygami’s enforcement actions.
This comprehensive legal response not only neutralized retaliatory tactics but also strengthened Bygami’s position in ongoing enforcement.
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