Korea's intellectual property office has a new name. The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) — 특허청 in Korean — has been reorganized as the Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP), 지식재산처.
Foreign applicants and their home-country counsel have asked us what this means in practice. Here is the short version.
What changed
- The name and status of the office. The office is now a ministry-level body. Notices, certificates and correspondence are issued under the name Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP).
- Its role in IP policy. As a ministry-level body, MOIP has a broader role in national intellectual property policy than KIPO had.
What did not change
- Your existing applications and registrations. Trademarks, patents and designs filed with or registered by KIPO remain fully valid. Application and registration numbers stay the same, and there is nothing you need to file because of the name change.
- Registration certificates issued under the KIPO name remain valid. You do not need to request new certificates.
- The Trademark Act and examination practice. The name change itself did not change how trademarks are examined.
How to refer to the office
- New documents: use "Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP)", or "Korea's Ministry of Intellectual Property".
- If clarity helps — for example in contracts or reports read by people outside Korea — write "Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP), formerly the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)".
- Existing contracts that refer to KIPO do not need to be amended just for the name change; a reference to KIPO is understood to mean the same office. When you next amend the contract, it is sensible to update the name.
- Searching for marks: Korea's online IP databases continue to work; older documents and third-party websites will still say "KIPO" for some time.
A note on translations
Because the change is recent, there is no settled translation of the new name in many languages. In other languages, we recommend writing the translated name followed by "(MOIP)" so that readers can identify the office without confusion.
Need help?
If you are unsure whether a document, power of attorney or contract needs updating, email help@dusonlaw.com.
This guide is general information, not legal advice.