THE WHAT? South Korea is establishing a joint government initiative to protect small and medium-sized businesses, including K-beauty brands, from overseas counterfeiting, trademark squatting and intellectual property infringement.
THE DETAILS The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korean Intellectual Property Office have created a joint council with the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency and Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency to share infringement cases and coordinate support. The initiative will connect 22 Global Business Centers across 14 countries with 10 overseas intellectual property centres supporting companies in 40 countries. Export assistance will also be linked with IP protection and dispute-response services. The move follows reports of counterfeit K-beauty products appearing on platforms including Amazon and TikTok Shop, including imitation versions of Beauty of Joseon’s Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics sunscreen.
THE WHY? The initiative strengthens the infrastructure protecting Korean beauty companies as they expand internationally, helping smaller brands address counterfeit products, unauthorised trademark registrations and other IP disputes that could undermine brand equity and overseas growth.
Source: Korea Times
