South Korea launches public campaign to report fake K-brand knockoffs abroad

As hallyu continues to captivate audiences worldwide, counterfeit brands riding on its popularity are also proliferating.

South Korea's Korea Intellectual Property Office said Wednesday it is launching a public tip-off campaign — "Find It, Shoot It, Post It" — along with a new "Fake K-Brand Reporting Center" and a "K-Brand Guardian" service to combat the spread of counterfeit products, unauthorized trademark squatting and store concept imitation overseas.

The reporting center is designed to let South Korean citizens easily submit online reports of suspected fake K-brand cases they encounter at overseas stores, on online platforms or through social media. The campaign slogan — Find It, Shoot It, Post It — captures the straightforward process the agency envisions.

The center will be housed within the "K-Brand Protection Portal" operated by the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency, and will offer a dedicated QR code along with image- and location-based quick-reporting functions so citizens can file reports on the spot.

Submitted reports will be reviewed for similarity to Korean trademarks, the likelihood of consumer confusion and the probability of infringement, then categorized by type — including business name and signage theft, counterfeit product distribution and damage to hallyu identity — and compiled into a database. Reports deemed valid will be promptly forwarded to the relevant K-brand rights holders, with follow-up support provided.

Where local trademark rights exist, the office plans to connect rights holders with evidence collection and administrative or criminal enforcement. In cases where local rights are absent or unclear, it will work through its K-Brand Dispute Response Strategy Support project to explore remedies under local laws and regulations, including unfair competition and consumer protection statutes.

Alongside the reporting center, the office said it will also offer the "K-Brand Guardian" service to help South Korean companies detect in advance the risk of their trademarks being registered without authorization by local parties overseas. The service analyzes overseas trademark application data, histories of unauthorized squatting, repeated filing patterns by applicants and agents, and similarity to Korean trademarks, then issues country- and industry-specific risk ratings and alerts as a dispute-prevention tool.

Companies that register their trademarks with the "Unauthorized Squatting Alert Service" will receive automatic email notifications whenever a similar mark is filed abroad, including the country and trademark details. The service will also analyze filing patterns — such as repeat filings, multi-country applications and expansions of designated goods — based on applicant, address and agent information, to identify suspected trademark brokers and share that intelligence with companies that need it. A separate function will allow companies to enter a brand name or image and check its similarity against trademarks registered in major overseas markets.

Going forward, the office said it plans to use data from the reporting center and the Guardian service to continuously monitor countries and industries with high rates of unauthorized trademark squatting and counterfeit goods, while expanding follow-up support as needed — including local legal action, coordination with enforcement agencies and cooperation with overseas platforms.

"As K-brands gain popularity around the world, it is more important than ever for the government to respond effectively to attempts to imitate or free-ride on them," Commissioner Kim Yong-seon said. "Through the 'Find It, Shoot It, Post It' public tip-off campaign, we will strengthen a multilayered response system to protect K-brands more thoroughly overseas."