Partner
Un Ho KIM
IP Litigation
主な業務分野
Recently reviewed Professionals
Un Ho Kim is a partner in the IP Practice Group at Lee & Ko and is highly reputed as a brilliant legal analyst and scholar, whose expertise in patent infringement and invalidation cases are well-known among IP litigators in Korea. Prior to joining Lee & Ko in 2009, he served in the bench for fifteen years as a judge for the Seoul High Court's Intellectual Property Division, and a research judge for the Supreme Court's Intellectual Property Division. Mr. Kim's representation covers all major technical fields. In IP Litigation, he represents top-tier multinational and domestic companies including electrical, mechanical, chemical, pharmaceutical, bio and software corporations. His expertise also extends to Trademark, Copyright and Unfair Competition. For example, he has represented global trademark owners in worldwide trademark disputes and the Korea Music Copyright Association in enforcing musical copyrights. He is well known for assuring his clients by coming up with successful results in Trade Secret litigations. On the bench, Mr. Kim wrote many theses on Intellectual Property issues and lectured at the Korea Patent Attorneys Association from 2005 to 2008. He was also a lecturer on IP litigation and IP damages at the Judicial Research & Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea, a training institute for candidates to be commissioned to the bench and Prosecutor's Office. He also lectures at Yonsei Law School in Korea on the subjects of trademark law and patent law. In addition, He co-authored several popular publications, including "Commentary to Patent Law" in 2010, "Commentary to Trademark Law" in 2018,"and two reference books, namely "Litigation for Damage" and "How to Draft Civil Appellate Court Decisions" that is used by many judges, prosecutors and lawyers.
主要事例
- Samsung in a patent infringement suit against Apple
- Microsoft in a patent infringement suit
- Renowned multinational pharmaceutical company in a patent invalidation suit
- Global pharmaceutical company in a scope confirmation action
- LCD related international patent infringement/invalidation suit
- Polymer related patent infringement suit
- Crystallized drug related patent infringement/invalidation suit
- Vaccine related injunction and invalidation suits for patent infringement
- Cosmetics related patent infringement/invalidation suit
- Automobile compressor related patent infringement/invalidation suit
- Telecommunications related patent infringement/invalidation suit
- IPTV related patent invalidation suit
- Telecommunications base station related patent infringement suit
- LNG related patent invalidation suit
- Air cleaner related patent invalidation suit
- Biodegradable polymer micro-particle manufacturing method related patent invalidation suit
- Water purifier related patent invalidation suit
- BTS in an injunction suit for trademark infringement and a preliminary injunction suit for unfair competition
- Lacoste in a trademark invalidation and cancellation suit
- Hyundai Group in a trademark infringement suit
- Daewoo E&C in a trademark infringement suit
- SU:M in a trademark infringement and cancellation suit
- WHOO in a trademark infringement suit
- TPAY in a preliminary injunction suit for trademark infringement
- Sariwon in a preliminary injunction suit for trademark infringement and trademark invalidation suit
- Poltrona Frau in an injunction suit against use of the trademark
- Kaneku trademark related preliminary injunction suit
- My Other Bag design related suit for trademark infringement (Trademark Parody)
- Coin tissue trademark suit
- Haeundae Amso Galbi restaurant name related unfair competition suit
- Franchise trademark related criminal suit
- 'PUMPING' in a trademark infringement suit
- Press and media report related copyright suit
- Starbucks music related copyright suit
- Textbook related preliminary injunction suit for copyright infringement
- Official English level test related copyright infringement suit
- OLEFLEX process related trade secret misappropriation suit
- AMOLED related injunction suit for non-compete and trade secret misappropriation
- Plastic AMOLED related injunction suit for non-compete and trade secret misappropriation
- Atomic Layer Deposition related injunction suit for non-compete and trade secret misappropriation
- FPSO related injunction suit for non-compete and trade secret misappropriation
- E-commerce related injunction suit for non-compete and trade secret misappropriation
- LCD Display related injunction suit for trade secret misappropriation
- Laser Drilling software related injunction and civil and criminal suits for non-compete and trade secret misappropriation
- 3D curved wall panels construction technology related injunction suit for non-compete and trade secret misappropriation
- OTC derivatives investment brokerage related injunction suit for non-compete
- Franchise executive officer related injunction suit for non-compete
- Automobile fuel cell related injunction suit for non-compete and trade secret misappropriation
- Non-motorized treadmill related injunction and civil and criminal suits for non-compete and trade secret misappropriation
- LCD silica related injunction and criminal suits for trade secret misappropriation
- Ventilation product related injunction suit and damages suit for trade secret misappropriation
- ADEN game related suit for unfair competition
- MU online game related copyright infringement/unfair competition suit
- MMORPG Game related copyright infringement suit
- Telecommunication related suit for employee invention compensation
- Damages suit for unjust attachment
- Academy lecture related injunction and damages suit
- Press release related defamation suit
- Novel related defamation suit
学歴
| 2003 | Duke University Law School - LL.M. |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Judicial Research & Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea |
| 1992 | Korea University, College of Law - LL.B. |
| 1991 | Passed the 33rd Korean Bar Examination |
経歴
| 2009-Present | Lee & Ko |
|---|---|
| 2016-Present | Korean Intellectual Property Lawyers Association Vice Chairman |
| 2016-Present | Patent Court Mediator |
| 2015-Present | Ministry of Government Legislation, Statutes Interpretation Review Committee, Committee Member |
| 2014-Present | Seoul Bar Association Intellectual Property Community Chairman |
| 2012-Present | Korean Commercial Arbitration Board Arbitrator |
| 2012-Present | Ministry of Justice, Intellectual Property Legal Advisory Council |
| 2010-Present | Trademark Association Member |
| 2007-2009 | Research Judge, Supreme Court of Korea (Intellectual Property) |
| 2005-2007 | Seoul High Court Judge (Exclusive Division for Intellectual Property) |
| 2003-2005 | Seoul District Court Judge |
| 2001-2003 | Seoul Family Court Judge |
| 1994-2001 | District Court Judge including Busan District Court etc. |
資格/会員
| 1994 | Admitted to the Korean Bar |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Admitted to the Korean Patent Bar |
| Vice President, Korean Intellectual Property Lawyers Association | |
| Korean Commercial Arbitration Board | |
| Advisory Council for Intellectual Property Law of the Ministry of Justice | |
| Professor, Yonsei Law School (Patent Law, Trademark Law) | |
| Council of Statutory Interpretation Deliberation Committee for Ministry of Government Legislation | |
| Member of Trademark Association |
言語
| English and Korean |
受賞実績
| 2026 | IAM Patent 1000, Gold rank - Litigation |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific, Litigation Star for Intellectual Property [2018~2026] |
| 2026 | The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Leading Partners - Intellectual Property [2024~2026] |
| 2026 | Chambers Asia-Pacific, Ranked Lawyer(Band 1) - Intellectual Property [2019~2026] |
| 2026 | Chambers Global, Ranked Lawyers Band 1- Intellectual Property [2020~2026] |
| 2026 | World Trademark Review 1000, Gold rank - Enforcement and Litigation [2020~2026] |
| 2025 | Managing Intellectual Property, IP Star for Patent [2018~2025] |
| 2025 | IAM Patent 1000, Gold rank - Litigation |
| 2025 | Asia Business Law Journal, The A-List (Korea's top 100 lawyers 2025) |
| 2025 | Asialaw Leading Layers, Distinguished practitioner for Intellectual Property [2020~2025] |
| 2024 | IAM Patent 1000, Silver rank - Litigation [2018~2024] |
| 2024 | Asia IP Magazine, Top 60 IP Experts of South Korea |
| 2023 | Legal Times, IP Lawyer of the Year |
| 2023 | Managing Intellectual Property Asia Pacific, South Korea IP Practitioner of the Year |
| 2022 | Managing Intellectual Property Asia Pacific, Asia Pacific IP Practitioner of the Year |
| 2022 | Asia IP Magazine, Top 50 IP Experts of South Korea |
| 2022 | Asian Legal Business, Asia's TOP 15 IP Lawyers |
| 2021 | Hankyung Business, Best Lawyer of the Year in Trademark & Intellectual Property by Korean In-House Counsel Association |
| 2017 | Managing Intellectual Property, IP Star for Trademark and Copyright |
| 2017 | Apex Asia Media, Asia IP Patents Experts |
著書/活動
- 'Commentary to Patent Law', co-author
- 'Commentary to Trademark Law', co-author
- 'Exercise of SEP Patentee's Rights and Its Limitations', Thesis (to be published) to commemorate the Patent Court's 20th Anniversary
- 'With regards to 'Functional Claim'', Special Act Research, Special Litigation Practice Research Society
- Theory and Practice for Trademark Infringement Suit, co-author, Korea Intellectual Property Society, Bobmunsa
- 'Litigation for Damages (collision, industrial accidents)', co-author, Seoul District Court, Korea Judicial Administration Society
- 'How to Draft Civil Appellate Court Decisions', co-author, Judicial Research Support Foundation
- 'Debt Inheritance' (Problems in Inheritance Law), Trial Materials Vol. 78, Court Library
- 'Examination on Framing in the Cyberspace from the Point of Copyright Infringement', Foreign Judicial Training Theses (24), Trial Materials Vol. 105, Court Library
- 'Examination on Claim Seeking Transfer of Custody of Underage Children', Practice Research 8 (Oct. 2002), Seoul Family Court
- 'Counter-Confusion of Trademarks', Intellectual Property Issue No. 13 (May 2006)
- 'Case Research on the Standards for Determining Inventiveness in Utility Models', Intellectual Property Issue No. 22 (Nov. 2007), Intellectual Property Law Research Society
- 'Establishment of Compulsory Transfer of Domain Name Pursuant to UDRP Decision and Unjust Enrichment', Supreme Court Case Commentaries Issue No. 75 (2008)
- 'Specifying the Elements of Invention for Purposes of Determining the Elements of Patent', Supreme Court Case Commentaries Issue No. 70 (2007)
- 'Scope of Prior Arts Referenced in Determining Inventiveness of Utility Models', Supreme Court Case Commentaries Issue No. 69 (2007)
- 'Description Requirements for Specifications of Selection Inventions', Supreme Court Case Commentaries Issue No. 74 (2007)
- 'Determining Whether a Trademark is a Functional Mark or a Mark that is Likely to Cause Confusion as to the Quality of Goods', Supreme Court Case Commentaries Issue No. 69 (2007)
- 'Office Action on New Grounds for Rejection during Re-Examination after Correction,' Intellectual Property Law Research Institute (2008)
- 'Correction, Partition Application, and Intentional Exclusion for Purposes of Overcoming Insufficiency of Description and Inventiveness', Supreme Court Case Commentaries Issue No. 75 (2008)
- “Legal Elements of Patent Scope of an Invention, including Specifying Products by Function, Effect, and Defining Technological Elements in Determining Patent Elements”, Supreme Court Case Commentaries Issue No. 74 (2007)
- 'Timing for Ruling on Amendment where an Amendment was Filed during Patent Invalidation or Opposition Proceedings', Supreme Court Case Commentaries Issue No. 76 (2008)
- 'Narrow Interpretation of Patent Scope in Patent Scope Confirmation Trials', Intellectual Property Issue No. 29 (Jan. 2009)
- 'Claims for Damages in Automobile Accidents and Auto Insurance', Trial Materials Vol. 112, Training Materials for Judges in Specialty Fields
- 'Trade Secrecy of Materials Submitted to Government Agencies', Presentation before the Information Law Society (Mar. 2008)
- “Case Commentary on Preliminary Injunction Against Infringement of Utility Model and the Crime of Rendering Null and Void Official Symbol During Public Service(Case No. 2006 Do 1819, S. Ct. Dec. 24, 2008),” Legal Newspaper (Sep. 21, 2009)
- Korea strengthens protection against IP infringement and unfair competition (Amendment of the Patent Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act), Legal500 Article, 2019
- 'First Ever Decision by the Supreme Court of Korea to Find Copyright Infringement in the Selection, Arrangement or Combination of Game Elements', Legal500 Article, 2019
- 'Lee & Ko successfully represents Big Hit Entertainment against unauthorized use of BTS' photos', Legal500 Article, 2019
- Practical Law Cross-border Intellectual Property-South Korea, intellectual property right licenses Q and A
- Practical Law - Cross-border Intellectual Property-South Korea, intellectual property right assignment Q and A
