“사리원면옥” 사건에 대하여

[특허심판원 2016당877, 특허법원 2016허8841 등록무효(상), 대법원 2017후1342 등록무효(상)]

The trademark “사리원면옥” is composed of “사리원” and “면옥”. “사리원” means a capital city of a North Korean province and “면옥” means a Korean noodle restaurant or a Korean cold noodle. The trademark was registered with the Korean Trademark Office in 1996. The trademark has been used by the owner as the name of the restaurants run by the owner until now, for more than 20 years. The petitioner filed a request for invalidation against the trademark under the ground that “사리원” is a famous geographical name. The PTO Appeal Board and the Patent Court dismissed the invalidation action. However, the Supreme Court reversed the Patent Court’s decision, reasoning that “사리원” is a famous geographical name. None of the PTO Appeal Board, the Patent Court and the Supreme Court discussed about the relationship between the city and the services of noodle restaurants. How could the trademark that has been used for more than 20 years. The Supreme Court decision will be one of awful decisions which were made by the Court.