IP Office publishes inaugural issue of specialized intellectual property journal

A specialized intellectual property journal covering major IP issues and policy trends has been published for the first time.

The Intellectual Property Office announced Wednesday that it has released the first issue of "Intellectual Property and Innovation" (Vol. 9), an annual publication launched since the office's establishment.

The inaugural issue addresses key disputes and policy challenges in the IP field arising from the spread of new technologies, including AI, and broader changes across industry and society.

The journal's "IP Forum" section examines legal and institutional issues across five topics: the interpretation of functional claims and their application to divisional applications; the statute of limitations on employee invention compensation claims; the limits of AI-based patent inventive-step assessments; the registration and protection of IP rights for designs derived from cultural heritage; and the cycle of intellectual property and creative works.

The "IP Systems and Policy" section surveys major domestic and international developments across nine areas: paradigm shifts in IP rights in the age of AI; EPO validation and IP rule-making; a Korean-style discovery system; patent attorney privilege; K-brand and ASEAN trademark strategy; publicity rights protection; challenges in the transition to PQC; the limits of trademark enforcement in the recommerce era; and trademark examination through the lens of fashion.

"I hope 'Intellectual Property and Innovation' becomes a space where today's IP landscape reveals tomorrow's possibilities," said Kim Yong-seon, commissioner of the Intellectual Property Office. "The office will also seek answers in the field and back them up with policy."