Trial & Litigation

The trial system related to Intellectual Property Right is a three instance procedure which consists of the Intellectual Property Tribunal, the Patent Court and the Supreme Court.

The Intellectual Property Tribunal has jurisdiction to decide through a trial, invalidation or cancellation actions of the registration of patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks.

The Intellectual Property Tribunal has also exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate confirmation of scope of protection, correction or invalidation of a patent, grant of compulsory license or an exploitation invention, and appeal from a rejection of an application.

Confirmation of scope of IP right is useful in establishing evidence of the scope of the IP right in connection with a civil suit for damages in a court which may not be well versed in the technical aspects of IP law.

First instance trials, as explained above, are reviewed by the Intellectual Property Tribunal composed of three (3) or five (5) trial examiners. However, the examiners of the Intellectual Property Tribunal are not judicial judges, but are administrative examiners with expertise in intellectual property matters.

Appeals from the Intellectual Property Tribunal decisions are heard by the Patent Court composed of three (3) judges. Trials in the Patent Court are conducted by a collegial panel of three judges.

In addition to the panel of judges, the Patent Court utilizes examiners who are not judges but have a relevant technical background. Technical examiners may participate in the trial proceedings and may conduct inquiries concerning technical matters of the related parties.

To appeal a decision of the Patent Court, the Supreme Court must be petitioned to accept the appeal. The Supreme Court’s scope of review is limited to questions of law.