Organisation: Hermès

A recent decision of the Seoul Central District Court in a case involving lookalike Chanel bags should encourage owners of products with famous shapes to consider taking more forceful steps to stop the sales of lookalikes in Korea.

17 February 2020

Thanks to their fame in the South Korean market, global luxury brands Van Cleef & Arpels and Hermès recently each had a 3D mark recognised for its distinctive nature by the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board.

22 August 2019

The Seoul High Court has rendered a significant decision that further clarifies the meaning of the ‘catch-all’ provision of the Unfair Competition and Trade Secret Protection Prevention Act.

12 May 2016

The World Intellectual Property Organisation recently released annual data for industrial design filings under the Hague System; this is the first year in which Japan and the United States, and the second year in which South Korea, have been members of the scheme. All three countries now appear to be major players when it comes to design rights, as Korean press reports suggest – but a closer analysis of the statistics tells a different story.

15 April 2016

The Seoul Central District Court has issued an injunction order against Suwa United Corporation for violating the new catch-all provision of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act. Suwa United is now prohibited from manufacturing or selling polyester bags on which images of Hermès' iconic Birkin and Kelly bags are printed.

25 March 2015

<i>WTR</i> Premium Updates, available only to subscribers, provide daily case law bulletins from across the globe. Heading up last month’s list of most-read updates was analysis of a recent Chinese TRAB decision involving various HERMES marks. The decision demonstrated the importance of establishing that there is a connection in the minds of consumers between a foreign name in Latin characters and its Chinese transliteration, as the scope of protection of one mark can be extended to another mark, and vice versa.

03 June 2013

A recent decision of the TRAB involving various HERMES marks has shown the importance of establishing that there is a connection in the minds of consumers between a foreign name in Latin characters and its Chinese transliteration, as the scope of protection of one mark can be extended to another mark, and vice versa.

20 May 2013

Earlier this month a $22 million counterfeiting ring was smashed by French police and Hermès, the luxury brand whose products were being faked by the gang. According to reports, two Hermès employees were dismissed in connection with the investigation, with a number of other current employees also suspected of involvement. Such ‘insider counterfeiting’ is a problem for many brands – but there are some positive learnings to be taken from Hermès’ response.

28 June 2012