Patent Attorney
TEL |
+82-2-6386-6239 |
E-MAIL |
ast@leekoip.com |
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Seong Tahk Ahn has been involved in patent prosecution, enforcement, opinion work, portfolio management, licensing and due diligence nationally and internationally for global companies since 1998, and joined Lee & Ko IP in 2015 as a partner to lead the electrical and mechanical patent practice areas. He also has handled chemical and biotechnology patents.
Mr. Ahn has prosecuted patents in a wide variety of technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), telecommunication, semiconductor, display, computer, semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, business model, internet search, internet network, printing, video and audio signal processing, automotive parts, electronic materials, optics, power generation, automation, biotechnology, chemicals and biotechnology-electronics fusion technology.
Mr. Ahn also has handled invalidation, correction, and confirmation of claim scope trials before the Intellectual Property Tribunal, the Patent Court, and the Supreme Court, and patent infringement suits. He has represented patent infringement cases before the Korean Trade Commission (KTC), and, as an IP adviser to the KTC, has submitted expert opinions in patent infringement cases at the request of the KTC and suggestions on revisions to the KTC Act.
Mr. Ahn has experience providing patent portfolio management service, including review of outside counsels' work and IP budget control, for a global IT company for several years. He also has experience investigating allegedly infringing products, and conducting prior art search to challenge the validity of patents-in-suit.
Based on his study and experience in the US patent practice, Mr. Ahn understands the needs of foreign companies and advises them in complying with the Korean patent practice, and also counsels domestic companies in foreign patent prosecution and litigation matters.
Mr. Ahn is an active member of the AIPPI where he serves as the President of AIPPI-Korea. He was a member of the Organizing Committee for the AIPPI World Congress 2012 Seoul. He has spoken in the AIPPI World Congress and the Korea-Japan-China Trilateral Meetings, and authored Korean chapters of working questions on various IP topics. Mr. Ahn is admitted to the Patent Bar in Korea and the Illinois Bar in the United States, and also passed the US Patent Bar Exam.
Mr. Ahn has been selected as a "Notable practitioner" from Managing IP Awards in 2022.
Education
2006 |
Georgetown University Law Center - LL.M. |
2000 |
Seoul National University - B.S. in Electrical Engineering |
1997 |
Seoul National University - B.S in Biology |
Work Experience
2015-Present |
Lee & Ko IP |
2023-Present |
AIPPI KOREA, President |
2011-2022 |
AIPPI KOREA, Vice President / Secretary General |
2011-2021 |
Korea Trade Commission (KTC), IP Advisor |
2011-2015 |
CENTRAL Intellectual Property & Law |
2006-2007 |
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP |
2000-2011 |
Lee International IP & Law Group |
1998-1999 |
Mutual Intellectual Property Law Office |
Expertise
IP Litigation |
IP Strategy Consulting |
Electrical · Electronics |
Mechanical |
Chemical |
Pharmaceuticals · Biotechnology |
US · Europe (IP Prosecution) |
International IP Litigation |
Border Measures |
Admissions
Admitted to the Korean patent bar(1997) |
Admitted to bar, Illinois (2007) |
Passed the U.S. Patent Bar Exam (2007) |
Languages
Representative Cases
- Management of patent portfolio, including review of outside counsels' work and IP budget control, in Korea for an US IT company
- Drafting US and EP patent applications for a Japanese company regarding the semiconductor manufacturing equipment
- Patent infringement case regarding the LCD before the Korea Trade Commission (KTC)
- Patent infringement and invalidation actions regarding a high pressure fuel pump
- Patent infringement and invalidation actions regarding an LNG compressor
- Analysis of patents related to wireless communication standards for global wireless telecommunication technology companies
- FTO opinions on an electronic cigarette
- Invalidation trial regarding the glass substrate etching device
- Invalidation and correction trials regarding the display panel
- Confirmation of claim scope trial regarding the digital copier
- Invalidation and confirmation of claim scope trial regarding the ship alarm system
- Providing a global telecommunication chip maker with the patent litigation strategy
- Patent infringement suit regarding the portable gas burner
- Providing an expert opinion on the patent infringement case regarding the OLED in the proceeding of the KTC
- Non-infringement and/or validity opinions regarding Korean or US patents in the technology fields of the vehicle loading system, mini credit card, digital amplifier chipset, DSP algorithm, mobile devi
- US patent litigations regarding the car airbag system and wireless telecommunication device
- Licensing negotiations regarding the wireless telecommunication, the semiconductor wafer, the UV lamp for a semiconductor equipment, and measurement tools used in a ship
- Prior art search for US patent litigations regarding the car entertainment system and mobile media technology
- Investigation of patent infringing products regarding the mobile handset and the glass substrate etching device
- IP due diligence regarding the Nano technology, data storage, display panel and advertising system
Awards and Recognitions
2022 |
Managing IP Awards, Notable practitioner |
Publications / Presentations / ETC
- Artificial Intelligence and Patents – An International Perspective on Patenting AI-Related Inventions, Contributor, Wolters Kluwer (2023)
- Grace period of patents and protection of product design, AIPPI Trilateral Meeting (2013)
- Doctrine of equivalents and FRAND term, Patent Mock Trial in the AIPPI World Congress (2012)
- Compensation of employee invention, Korea National Open University (2005)
- The doctrine of equivalents in Korea, International Intellectual Property Training Institute in Korea (1998)