April 17, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] An Australian steelmaker Blue Scope Steel is likely to make a pleading in the first English patent case to be handled by South Korea’s international justice department launching in June.

Blue Scope Steel filed a petition to the Patent Court last month, demanding for the revocation of the Korean Intellectual Property Office’s rejection of its patent application, according to court officials on April 19.

In 2010, the Australian company developed a new steel laminating technology that uses an unconventional combination of zinc and magnesium and applied for a patent at the Korean IP office. After a series of reviews, however, KIPO rejected the application in 2015, concluding that the technology cannot be seen as an exclusive work of innovation.

In May last year, Blue Scope filed an appeal litigation at the Patent Court, seeking for the withdrawal of KIPO’s rejection but the initial trial date was put on hold in consideration to the upcoming English pleading process.

“We are currently considering (taking the case to the international trial),” said an official of KIPO. “There is still some time until the international pleading system takes effect.”

Dongkuk Steel, one of the local steelmakers here, may also participate in the litigation to assist the IP office as an interested third party, but it is the Australian plaintiff’s claim that the Korean company is not entitled to have a say in the case.

Under the revised Court Organization Act, approved by the National Assembly in December last year, parties in a patent suit may apply for an English procedure at the international justice department at the Patent Court.

While judges and local parties may continue to use Korean, foreign participants may use English and will be offered a real-time English translation and an English-translated ruling. The new system will start on June 13.

Of the 582 cases filed at the Patent Court last year, 194 -- or 33.3 percent -- involved a foreign individual or company, court data showed.

A report by the Korea Law & Economics Association claimed last year that the introduction of the international court system will create a direct economic effect of 1.15 trillion won (us$1 billion) over the next five years.

By Bae Hyun-jung/The Korea Heral (tellme@heraldcorp.com)