Welcome to the Intellectual Property High Court of Korea !

The Intellectual Property High Court of Korea was established under Article 3(1)of the Court Organization Act on March 1, 1998. The Court is now located in the city of Daejeon, within about 1.5 hours drive or 150 kilometers away from Seoul.

The Intellectual Property High Court has jurisdiction over trial cases set forth in Article 186(1) of the Patent Act, Article 33 of the Utility Model Act, Article 166(1) of the Design Act, Article 162 of the Trademark Act, appellate cases set forth in Article 24(2),(3) of Civil Procedure Act and other cases coming under the jurisdiction of the Intellectual Property High Court pursuant to other laws such as Article 103(1) of Act on the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. The Intellectual Property High Court has exclusive jurisdiction over all actions requesting revocation of decisions rendered by the Intellectual Property Trial And Appeal Board (IPTAB). Since January 1, 2016, the jurisdiction over appellate trial of patent infringement cases is also vested in the Intellectual Property High Court. As a result, the Intellectual Property High Court has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over civil actions relating to IP rights, such as actions seeking injunctions or compensation for damages.

The Intellectual Property High Court consists of a chief judge, 5 presiding judges, 11 judges, 23 technical advisors. 5 divisions, each consisting of 3 three-judgepanels, hear the cases. Highly technical matters are referred to technical examiners who have long-term experiences in various scientific fields such as mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, chemical engineering, etc.

The Intellectual Property High Court is an appellate-level court. However, there is no hierarchical relation whatsoever between the revocation proceedings of the Intellectual Property High Court and the proceedings of the IPTAB, and the records from the proceedings of the IPTAB are not transferred to the Intellectual Property High Court. Accordingly, the same contentions and evidences as those already submitted to the IPTAB must be submitted again to the Intellectual Property High Court for a new determination at the Intellectual Property High Court. Any appeal of the Intellectual Property High Court's decisions should be brought directly to the Supreme Court.