Establishment of the International Divisions
More and more foreign parties are litigating their patent cases in Korea. Taking up one-third (33.3%) of total cases in 2017, they have called for better language access for foreign parties. The newly amended Court Organization Act of Korea, effective from June 13, 2018, established the International Divisions to handle certain intellectual property cases with a goal of providing prompt, affordable, fair, and convenient judicial services to all parties. As a result, parties can now make oral arguments or submit documents in foreign language in Korean courts. A case may be brought to the International Divisions when: (a) a party to the lawsuit is a foreigner or a foreign company; (b) there is a need to examine material evidence in foreign language; or (c) there are other circumstances that make the case “international” in nature. The International Divisions are currently installed in Seoul Central District Court and the Intellectual Property High Court. Each International Division consists of a three judge panel assisted by technical examiners and interpreters working full-time at the court.
How to Bring Your Case to the International Division
To bring a case to the International Division, mutual consent of the parties must be present. Upon a written application and a written consent, the International Division may give its permission to handle the case unless granting the application is likely to cause significant delay in the proceeding. The written forms must be filed prior to the first date of trial. However, the International Division may accept an application or a consent filed after the first date of trial if there is substantial need to take the case. The application may be withdrawn by mutual consent of the parties or the court’s discretion. The International Division’s permission to take the case may be revoked when the use of foreign language substantially interferes with the court proceeding. The withdrawal and revocation do not have retrospective effect. Therefore, parties do not need to submit translations of documents that are already filed.
How It Works
At the International Divisions, parties may argue their cases or examine witnesses in a permitted foreign language and need not submit translations for their briefs or exhibits written in the foreign language. Simultaneous interpretation, or consecutive interpretation if necessary, will be provided by the court with no cost, so parties need not hire their own interpreters. This does not mean that all parties must make oral arguments in foreign language. A party may still use Korean, and in such cases, interpretation will be provided into the permitted foreign language. The judges will proceed in Korean, as the language of the court is Korean under Article 62(1) of the Court Organization Act. This will be interpreted into the permitted language as well. For now, only English is available as the permitted foreign language. However, other languages may be added to the list in the future depending on the demand. As for documents written in a third language other than Korean or the permitted foreign language, the parties must still provide translation in Korean or the permitted language.
Record, Decision, and Appeal
Orders, rulings, and final decisions of the court will be issued in Korean. The court shall provide the translation of the decisions afterwards. The appeal period and the effective date of a decision are calculated based on the date the decision in Korean was issued. Parties may file appeal in the permitted foreign language without translation.
* Relevant rules, forms, and more information may be found at :
http://patent.scourt.go.kr/patent_new/index_e.work.