Lee International

On January 25, 2024, the Korean National Assembly passed an amendment to the Patent Act to increase the maximum award of punitive damages for a patent infringement from three times the amount of damages to five times.  According to the amendment, if the infringement of a patent right or an exclusive license thereof is found to be willful, the court may award punitive damages up to quintuple the actual damages.

A similar amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, raising the cap on punitive damages for an act of willful trade secret misappropriation and theft of ideas from three times to five times, was passed on the same date.  In addition, under the joint penalty provisions of this amendment, the maximum fine for a corporation (employer of an individual offender) for unfair competition or trade secret misappropriation will be increased to three times the fine imposed on the individual offender.  In addition, the statute of limitations for a corporation for a trade secret misappropriation will be 10 years, the same as for an individual offender.

With these amendments, it will be possible for a right holder to claim punitive damages up to quintuple the actual damages for a willful patent infringement or trade secret misappropriation, which is expected to provide greater protection for intellectual property rights in Korea by providing proactive prevention of infringement actions and ensuring the effectiveness of remedies for damages.

The amendments are expected to be promulgated in February 2024 and will take effect six (6) months after promulgation.