Korea and France Expand Intellectual Property Cooperation Against AI and Counterfeit Goods... MOU Signed in Paris

[Financial News] Intellectual property (IP) authorities in Korea and France are establishing a comprehensive cooperation framework to innovate IP administration in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and combat global counterfeit goods.
The Ministry of Intellectual Property (Minister Kim Yong-sun) announced on the 8th (local time) that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Intellectual Property Cooperation with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) on the occasion of the Korea-France summit held at the Élysée Palace in Paris. Marking the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France, the level of cooperation in the field of intellectual property has been raised as bilateral relations have been elevated to a "Global Strategic Partnership."
Under the agreement, both organizations have agreed to strengthen cooperation not only in future policy areas such as IP administration in response to the AI Transformation (AX), AI-related examination cooperation, IP finance, and commercialization, but also in IP protection and law enforcement fields, including combating counterfeit goods.
Prior to signing the MOU, Minister Kim Yong-sun of the Ministry of Intellectual Property attended the 'Korea-France Policy Dialogue on Counterfeit Goods' and discussed public-private cooperation measures with French Customs, the National Anti-Counterfeiting Committee (CNAC), and the French Manufacturers' Association (UNIFAB). He also requested cooperation for the promotion and successful implementation of the 'K-Brand National Certification System' currently being pursued.
Following this, they held a meeting of intellectual property heads with Pascal Faure, Director General of the National Institute of Industrial Property, and agreed to expand multilateral IP cooperation in conjunction with Director General Faure’s appointment as Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in October.
Minister Kim is scheduled to visit the Louis Vuitton Asnières workshop on the 9th and meet with LVMH and Louis Vuitton IP officials to discuss counterfeit-goods response technologies and ways to strengthen public-private cooperation.
Minister Kim stated, "We will support our companies so that their intellectual property is thoroughly protected overseas and leads to global competitiveness through policy sharing and public-private cooperation with France."
Meanwhile, with the recent rapid growth of global e-commerce platforms, the distribution of counterfeit goods across national borders, both online and offline, has emerged as a critical issue causing serious economic damage to companies in both countries. In particular, France, the home of the luxury and fashion industries, and Korea, where damage from intellectual property infringement in K-beauty, fashion, and content has surged due to the popularity of K-culture, have agreed to join forces to share real-time monitoring technology and enforcement know-how to block the online distribution of counterfeits.

[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter