한 · 미 FTA 등에 따라 새로 도입된 상표제도

A Study on the Changes of the Trademark System according to KOR-US FTA - Focused on Sound·Smell Trademarks and the Induction of the Certification Mark -

As KOR-US FTA took effect on March 15th, 2012, our Trademark Act newly introduced sound•smell trademarks and the certification mark. Sound or smell trademarks refer to “signs • characters • figures or others described by visual methods among the things not visually recognizable such as sound and smell”. To get a sound or smell trademark in Korea, it should be qualified with the followings: i) not to violate the one trademark one application principle, ii) to acquire discernment in its use, iii) not to have functionality as its condition, and iv) to have a clear visual mechanism. A certification mark refers to the mark for those having a job of certifying the quality, place of origin, manufacturing method, or other properties in product or service industry to use to give certification to a thing satisfying the quality, place of origin, manufacturing method, or other properties defined by the service industry for those having a job of producing, manufacturing, processing, or selling products or those working in product or service industry. A certification mark shows that a product or service has been screened, investigated, or examined by the method suggested by the certification mark owner, and unlike the trademark, a single mark can be used for products or services of many different sources. Therefore, certification mark owners are not allowed to use their certification marks for their own products or services. With FTA, we accepted a new system in the trademark system as well in order to cope with the changeful social circumstances rapidly, and as a result, we can evaluate that our trademark system has become closer to globalization one step further.