[Valuable Intellectual Property] Using Luxury Brand Logos to Rework Bags? "It's a Trademark Law Violation"

Protect Rights through Design Registration
Be Careful Not to Infringe on Others' Intellectual Property
Usable After Copyright Protection Period Expires

Reference photo (unrelated to the article content)

Mr. A, who runs a design specialty company, claimed, "I participated in a competitive bidding process and my design was plagiarized." Mr. A revealed three types of design drafts to client company B during a PT presentation. However, he said he witnessed a B company official taking photos during the design PT presentation. Company B did not proceed with the project, citing the detailed estimate as too expensive. Later, Mr. A happened to come across news that Company B had used a similar design to attract investment. He said, "Although it is not 100% identical to the design shape I proposed at the time, it is a similar form."

Kim Taebong, Secretary General of the Korea Design Industry Federation, said, "Cases of people suffering damage similar to Mr. A's happen frequently." Secretary General Kim added, "In another case, among several drafts disclosed during a PT presentation, clients sometimes insist on taking all of them even though only one should be selected." He pointed out, "This is the result of a lack of awareness about intellectual property (IP) related to design."

Issues surrounding intellectual property in the design industry are not new. According to the "2021 Fair Trade Survey of Design Companies" published by the Korea Design Industry Federation, one out of ten design specialty companies experienced damage related to intellectual property rights. The main dispute targets were small and medium-sized enterprises (56%, multiple responses), government, local governments, and public institutions (45%), and large corporations (17.4%) in that order. In cases like Mr. A's, where designs disclosed during the PT process were used without permission by the other party, problems can be raised as copyright infringement or breach of confidentiality obligations. To prevent design plagiarism, proactive measures such as securing intellectual property rights like design registration are necessary to protect one's designs.

Designers creating new works must also be careful not to infringe on others' intellectual property rights. Entrepreneur Mr. C faced trouble after posting photos on his SNS of a luxury brand 'EOOO' dust bag he had reformed to make bags for his startup. He received a certified letter from the luxury brand accusing him of trademark infringement and unfair competition. Mr. C sought expert advice through the free legal advisory group operated by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion.

Lee Yongwoo, a patent attorney at Ajou Patent Law Firm and an advisory committee member, stated, "If you leave only the logo part of the luxury brand and change the design or material to reform it into a completely different product for sale or advertisement, it can be considered trademark infringement." He also said, "Using another's widely recognized mark domestically in a way that confuses consumers can constitute unfair competition," and advised, "It is best to respond to the certified letter to prevent direct civil and criminal actions." Legal disputes can arise not only from directly imitating luxury brand products but also from reforming dust bags or shopping bags using logos. Attorney Kang Nadan of Samil Law Firm advised, "Since luxury brands actively protect their brands, they may demand damages, so extra caution is necessary."

On the other hand, there are areas where design activities can be freely conducted. Famous paintings whose copyright protection period has expired fall into this category. The protection period for copyrighted works is during the author's lifetime plus 70 years after death. The copyright law was amended in 2011, extending the protection period from 50 to 70 years. Works by famous deceased artists such as Gustav Klimt (died 1918) and Vincent van Gogh (1890) are no longer under copyright protection and can be freely used in their original form. Patent attorney Jung Byunghong of Bestian Patent Law Office said, "Such created works are protected by copyright law, and design creations with aesthetic sensibility can also be protected under the Design Protection Act."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.