[Exclusive] Samyang Foods Secures Trademark Rights for "Buldak" and "Buldak"

Procedures Completed Just Four Months After Application in February

Active Use of IP Planned in Domestic and Global Marketing

Strengthening Overseas IP Portfolio Based on Domestic Trademark Rights

Samyang Foods has finally secured the domestic trademark rights for its leading spicy brand, "Buldak."

According to the food industry on June 16, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) posted the registration decision for Samyang Foods' Korean trademark "불닭" and English trademark "Buldak" the previous day. Both trademark applications, which passed the examiner’s review and were published for opposition on May 4, were finalized after a 30-day opposition period. With this trademark registration, Samyang Foods can now use the English trademark "Buldak" for ramen and sauce products, while the Korean trademark "불닭" is limited to ramen products only, excluding sauces.

Yonhap News Agency

Samyang Foods applied for the trademark rights with KIPO on February 27 and underwent a prioritized examination starting in May. Normally, it takes more than a year from filing for a preliminary result, such as publication, after requesting examination with KIPO. However, when selected for prioritized examination, a preliminary result with the examiner's review is issued within two to three months.

For the "불닭" and "Buldak" trademarks, the application was published just 35 days after the prioritized examination decision was issued, and the process was confirmed after the opposition period. All procedures were completed in less than four months after the initial application. It appears that the trademark registration process was expedited in consideration of the recent surge in K-ramen exports, led by Buldak Bokkeum Myeon.

'Samyang Foods' Registered Trademark 'Buldak'

Samyang Foods' registered trademark 'Buldak'

Especially this year, Samyang Foods has been pursuing domestic trademark applications for both the Korean and English names "불닭" and "Buldak." Since its launch in 2012, Buldak Bokkeum Myeon has sparked a global craze for spicy ramen through social networking services (SNS). As a result, numerous imitation products have appeared overseas, prompting Samyang Foods to focus on securing domestic trademark rights. The company aimed to register the trademarks domestically, judging that failure to do so would limit its ability to assert rights in the event of overseas trademark disputes.

Initially, the Korean name "불닭" was not protected as a trademark in Korea. In 2008, the Patent Court ruled that "불닭" had lost its distinctiveness as a trademark due to widespread use as a common noun, making it available for anyone to use as a trademark. However, this time, Samyang Foods applied for the English trademark and simultaneously proceeded with the Korean trademark, and trademark rights for "불닭" were recognized for ramen products only. For sauces and other products, "불닭" remains a common noun and is excluded from Samyang Foods' trademark rights.

With this trademark registration, Samyang Foods plans to actively utilize the "불닭·Buldak IP" across all domestic and international marketing to strengthen its brand identity. In particular, the company will continue to build its IP portfolio overseas based on the domestic trademark rights. It also plans to gradually strengthen its overall IP protection system, not only by cracking down on typical offline counterfeit goods, but also by enhancing responses to counterfeit products in online marketplaces, tightening customs controls during export and import procedures, and preventing unauthorized registration of trademarks by third parties abroad.

This case drew significant attention as it was mentioned during a meeting presided over by President Lee Jaemyung, who was specifically asked for government support.

In January, Samyang Foods Chairman Kim Jeongsoo (then Vice Chairman) said at the National Briefing on Economic Growth Strategy chaired by President Lee, "Samyang Foods has registered trademarks in 88 countries worldwide, but is in dispute in 27 countries," adding, "Protecting K-brands overseas is a critical task." He also requested government support to secure both domestic and overseas trademark rights.

Afterwards, Samyang Foods highlighted its acquisition of the Buldak trademark in a newspaper advertisement, stating, "This is about broadening export channels for K-food and imprinting the value of Korea’s brand on the world," and emphasized that "'Buldak' is a unique brand asset owned and built by Samyang Foods."

A Samyang Foods representative said, "The key to securing this trademark lies in enhancing the global competitiveness of Samyang Foods' brand," adding, "We will continue to invest in marketing and branding so that '불닭' and 'Buldak' are recognized as Samyang Foods' unique global brand assets by consumers around the world."

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