U.S. companies should also seek legal counsel with regards to protecting their intellectual property. Trademark and patent registration (if applicable) with the Korea Industrial Property Office (KIPO) is the minimum safeguard for your intellectual property rights in Korea. U.S. companies are advised to seek the services of a local attorney to directly register their trademarks and/or patents in their own names, not the Korean agent's name. In order to have control over these important intellectual property rights, registration must be done in the U.S. company's name. Korean law requires that only local attorneys be allowed to fill out and submit applications to KIPO. A list of major attorney firms in Korea is listed at the end of this chapter in the section entitled "Need for a Local Attorney."…
