#SPECIAL INTERVIEW
2015.09.15
AP Intellectual Property Division, Kwon Su-jung
SPECIAL
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
Special interview with members of the board aims to share the leadership's vision and promote seamless global communication
Looking after valuable intellectual properties of AP
AMOREPACIFIC Intellectual Property Division, Kwon Su-jung
No guns, but companies are at war. And their weapons? Patents. The high profile lawsuit between Samsung Electronics and Apple has shown that patents can be a weapon between rival consumer brand companies. Disputes around intellectual property have also appeared in the field of cosmetics. With the largest number of trademark rights of any Korean-headquartered company, AMOREPACIFIC Group has been active in applying for patents and trademarks. In this article, we meet Kwon Su-jung (or Cecile Sujung Kwon), the leader of AMOREPACIFIC Intellectual Property Division and the person responsible for looking after our valuable intellectual property.
Q. Hello, it is great to see you via News Square. Please, introduce us about Intellectual Property Division.
Like traditional property classes such as real estate, intellectual property is categorized as a company asset with monetary value. Intellectual Property Division is in charge of legal works regarding intellectual property (IP) rights, which defines the ownership rights for the intangible knowledge that a person or company possesses. It encompasses patent rights, trademark rights, copyright, design rights, utility model rights and domain rights.
Intellectual Property Division creates, protects and utilizes the intellectual property of AMOREPACIFIC Group to enhance the Group's competitiveness. We provide legal advice to AMOREPACIFIC Group members, including from the marketing team, the design team of each brand and research institute and also settle any conflicts through bringing legal action and lawsuits, or by signing strategic license agreements.
Like traditional property classes such as real estate, intellectual property is categorized as a company asset with monetary value. Intellectual Property Division is in charge of legal works regarding intellectual property (IP) rights, which defines the ownership rights for the intangible knowledge that a person or company possesses. It encompasses patent rights, trademark rights, copyright, design rights, utility model rights and domain rights.
Intellectual Property Division creates, protects and utilizes the intellectual property of AMOREPACIFIC Group to enhance the Group's competitiveness. We provide legal advice to AMOREPACIFIC Group members, including from the marketing team, the design team of each brand and research institute and also settle any conflicts through bringing legal action and lawsuits, or by signing strategic license agreements.
Q. The conflict surrounding the intellectual property of our innovation icon – Cushion technology – has been a massive issue, but what issue is the Intellectual Property Division particularly focused on at the moment?
The keywords for Intellectual Property Division this year are Cushion, China and global. As the media has reported, we are stepping up our efforts to secure the intellectual property rights to our Cushion products and are proactive in taking action against any infringements. We secure our intellectual property rights – including patent rights, trademark rights and design rights – for Cushion technology from a global perspective and proactively take action in patent litigation against any infringements in order to protect our rights.
Plus, we are trying to minimize risk through protection efforts in China, which is an important market for us, particularly as it is flooded with imitations/fakes. We set up the Intellectual Property Team in China to crack down on online/offline infringement cases. What's more, we are building up a global intellectual property network so that we can be more active in dealing with intellectual property issues that arise around the world as we go global.
The keywords for Intellectual Property Division this year are Cushion, China and global. As the media has reported, we are stepping up our efforts to secure the intellectual property rights to our Cushion products and are proactive in taking action against any infringements. We secure our intellectual property rights – including patent rights, trademark rights and design rights – for Cushion technology from a global perspective and proactively take action in patent litigation against any infringements in order to protect our rights.
Plus, we are trying to minimize risk through protection efforts in China, which is an important market for us, particularly as it is flooded with imitations/fakes. We set up the Intellectual Property Team in China to crack down on online/offline infringement cases. What's more, we are building up a global intellectual property network so that we can be more active in dealing with intellectual property issues that arise around the world as we go global.
We have strengthened our actions against infringements of our intellectual property in Korea and abroad, including China. In the first half of 2014, we brought action against 24 infringement cases but, in the first half of this year, that number has leapt to 132, which represents a 550% increase over the whole of last year. You might have heard in the news about an imitation of HERA MIST CUSHION manufactured in Korea. We got information about the case and fully cooperated with special judicial police officers under the Korean Intellectual Property Office to arrest the manufacturer.
One of our achievements this year is that we have set up the Intellectual Property Team in AMOREPACIFIC China, sent Korean employees proficient in Chinese and hired professionals including Chinese lawyers to ensure our intellectual property rights are protected in China. We have also implemented a crackdown on imitations circulating in the Chinese market in order to enhance the value of our brands. Plus, we recently signed an MOU with Alibaba Group, the largest retailer in China, in order to protect our intellectual property rights. Our efforts in this area demonstrate the way that the brands and products of AMOREPACIFIC Group are so highly valued worldwide. Through this MOU, we expect that there will be greater mutual cooperation with local online shopping malls, including Taobao, to better control any intellectual property infringements.
Q. For how many property rights does AMOREPACIFIC Group apply in a year? How is the protection of patent rights recognized in the Korean cosmetics field?
We submit about 200-250 applications for patents and 1,000-1,500 applications for trademark rights in a typical year. The protection of our technology with patent rights in Korean cosmetics is tenuous to say the least. Releasing so-called "me-too products" – which are copies of a leading company's product – is common practice. Korea needs to bring this practice to a stop and devote greater efforts to developing original products in order to join the ranks of advanced countries. For this, it's essential to maintain respect for the rights of others. Patent rights is as important to others as it is to us.
AMOREPACIFIC Group undergoes a patent consulting service in the early stage of product development and reinforces analysis of patents and patent monitoring program for important specific themes. We always conduct a prior art search to prevent possible conflicts in connection with patents and take prompt, pre-emptive action to mitigate patent risks in order not to infringe the patent rights of others. In addition, we monitor the media and give infringers the opportunity to admit and correct their wrongdoing.
We submit about 200-250 applications for patents and 1,000-1,500 applications for trademark rights in a typical year. The protection of our technology with patent rights in Korean cosmetics is tenuous to say the least. Releasing so-called "me-too products" – which are copies of a leading company's product – is common practice. Korea needs to bring this practice to a stop and devote greater efforts to developing original products in order to join the ranks of advanced countries. For this, it's essential to maintain respect for the rights of others. Patent rights is as important to others as it is to us.
AMOREPACIFIC Group undergoes a patent consulting service in the early stage of product development and reinforces analysis of patents and patent monitoring program for important specific themes. We always conduct a prior art search to prevent possible conflicts in connection with patents and take prompt, pre-emptive action to mitigate patent risks in order not to infringe the patent rights of others. In addition, we monitor the media and give infringers the opportunity to admit and correct their wrongdoing.
The concept of intellectual property continues to evolve and related laws are constantly changing around the world, including in Korea. To keep up with this trend, we make sure that we attend related forums and exchange information with other companies grappling with this issue. In some cases, we do not take a legal action but are able to settle conflicts in a friendly way when we bump into companies in a good-neighbor relationship. One of the remarkable things we have seen recently is the good will for peaceful coexistence and mutual growth that has been building up.
Some people on site do not easily grasp why we might ask them for related data since intellectual property is such a highly specialized field. Their view on evidential data is different from ours and it can be challenging at times to help them understand. Nevertheless, more and more people are becoming aware of patents and trademark rights and we are trying to explain the importance of them using simple words rather than difficult legal terms to make it easier for non-specialists to understand.
Individuals and companies need to have the right level of knowledge and awareness about the value of intellectual property. Leading companies make strategic use of their intellectual property by commercializing and we aponizing their patents. AMOREAPCIFIC Group needs to follow in their footsteps by forging a number of spears and shields in order to deal with competitors at a Group level. And we need to act as an IP control tower, being aggressive when it calls for it and being defensive at other times in how we use our IP.
Intellectual Property Division has a vision to secure and protect intellectual property through strategic IP management to enhance the growth potential of AMOREPACIFIC Group and strengthen our presence as a leading company in the global market. To accomplish this vision, we execute three management strategies: 1) creating strong IP rights, 2) enhancing IP risk management and 3) making use of IP to our full advantage.
Q. We'd like to know about your career path prior to joining AMOREPACIFIC Group at the end of last year.
I was still undecided as to what career I should pursue after graduation and I soon got married and had children. I began the study of patent law, passed the required examinations and became a patent attorney. I was about five years behind others in terms of my career and social life as a working mother. In large law firms, I worked as an agent for luxury fashion/cosmetics companies such as Chanel, Hermès, Dior and L'Oréal and learned about how global companies manage their intellectual property. I also stayed in Paris and London for one year each, studied the intellectual property law of the European Union at graduate school and built extensive knowledge of the nuances of intellectual property law around the world. I think that my carrier as an agent for luxury fashion/cosmetics companies and the experience I acquired abroad have helped get me to where I am in my career at the moment.
I was still undecided as to what career I should pursue after graduation and I soon got married and had children. I began the study of patent law, passed the required examinations and became a patent attorney. I was about five years behind others in terms of my career and social life as a working mother. In large law firms, I worked as an agent for luxury fashion/cosmetics companies such as Chanel, Hermès, Dior and L'Oréal and learned about how global companies manage their intellectual property. I also stayed in Paris and London for one year each, studied the intellectual property law of the European Union at graduate school and built extensive knowledge of the nuances of intellectual property law around the world. I think that my carrier as an agent for luxury fashion/cosmetics companies and the experience I acquired abroad have helped get me to where I am in my career at the moment.
Q. Please give advice to people just starting out in their career and what sort of attitude or mindset you think they should cultivate.
I was a late starter in my career. I began my career as a patent attorney after giving birth to two children. I am also a working mother who recently had a third child. I think I have experienced many of the typical difficulties that office workers, particularly women, may face in their social life. What I'd like to say is that you need to pursue what you like to do no matter what practical challenges you may encounter. Do not think that you are late and never give up on your dream. I'd ask you all to hang on to your dreams at all times, prepare yourselves for attaining them and believe that you will be able to achieve your dreams whenever the opportunity arises.
I was a late starter in my career. I began my career as a patent attorney after giving birth to two children. I am also a working mother who recently had a third child. I think I have experienced many of the typical difficulties that office workers, particularly women, may face in their social life. What I'd like to say is that you need to pursue what you like to do no matter what practical challenges you may encounter. Do not think that you are late and never give up on your dream. I'd ask you all to hang on to your dreams at all times, prepare yourselves for attaining them and believe that you will be able to achieve your dreams whenever the opportunity arises.
Q. Thank you for your advice. Would you share with us the kind of leader you'd like to become?
I have always tried to be supportive and become a person that others would love to work with. I still want to be a friendly person who is good and comfortable to work with and has a lot to give, rather than a prescriptive leader.
I have always tried to be supportive and become a person that others would love to work with. I still want to be a friendly person who is good and comfortable to work with and has a lot to give, rather than a prescriptive leader.
Many think that images available online do not have copyright or that it's okay to use them as long as the source is indicated, but that's incorrect. Using such images may cause problems. Copyright involves very complex relationship of rights and duties compared to patent rights and trademark rights. It is recommended never to use the creation of others in principle and, if you have to use it, to first consult with Intellectual Property Division.
☞ Do not copy even free gifts or promotional materials!
Recently we received a notice of infringement in relation to the free gifts and promotional materials of our brands. Even a slight alteration to the creative work of others could infringe their copyright and design rights. There is a likelihood of infringement in using the creation of others with a twist. Do not use the work of others if at all possible.
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