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On March 25, 2026, Lee & Ko hosted a seminar on ‘Strategic Approaches to Global Technology Dispute Risk and K-Discovery’.

The three-session seminar began with a welcome address by Mr. Un Ho Kim and was moderated by Ms. Hyunjin Koh.

In the first session, Mr. Hankil D. Kang presented “Strategies for Responding to U.S. IP Litigation,” covering an overview of U.S. litigation, practical guidance on handling complaints and discovery, as well as an in-depth discussion of investigation procedures at the International Trade Commission (ITC).

In the second session, Mr. Hayoun Chun discussed “Strategies for Utilizing and Responding to UPC Litigation,” introducing strategic approaches for companies to leverage the UPC, along with various case examples in detail.

In the final session, Mr. Jaewoo Kwak addressed “Responding to Risks Related to K-Discovery and ACP,” analyzing a range of practical issues that companies may face and proposing specific response strategies.

Lee & Ko’s IP & Technology Group handles not only traditional intellectual property matters; such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and unfair competition, but also disputes and advisory work related to advanced technologies including AI, data, semiconductors, and healthcare. The group has also accumulated extensive experience in cross-border litigation and international arbitration across various sectors. In particular, it has developed deep expertise over many years in discovery practice and is well-positioned to provide one-stop solutions for matters involving K-Discovery.

On November 27, 2025, Lee & Ko’s IP & Technology Group successfully hosted a seminar titled ‘Changes in the IP and Technology Protection Environment in the Era of Technological Innovation and How to Respond.’

Lee & Ko’s IP & Technology Group’s seminar, celebrating its 11th anniversary of the annual client seminar series starting in 2015, has consistently provided an in-depth exploration of key issues in IP field. This year, the seminar marked a pivotal moment in the evolution of Lee & Ko’s IP Group into the IP & Technology Group, broadening its focus to include not only traditional IP rights but also on a wide array of emerging technology-related matters.

The first part of session centered on dispute response strategies directly relevant to corporate practices. Ms. Yi-Kang Kang opened the session on “Patent and Trade Secret Dispute Response Strategies,” covering methods for securing evidence in technology disputes and the application of punitive damages under patent law. Ms. Shin Sil Choi followed with a discussion on “Responsive Strategies for Unfair Competition Disputes,” analyzing various case law on unauthorized use of achievements under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and offering corporate response strategies in this regard. The first session concluded with additional presentations by Ms. Soo Yeon Park, who shared “Product Defects, Recalls, and Dispute Response Strategies.” Ms. Park discussed various dispute cases and solutions related to defects in pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and household chemicals, while also addressing legal risk management strategies.

The second session featured new regulations and global dispute trends in the era of technical innovation. Mr. Jae Woo Kwak presented on “Recent Trends in AI Technology Regulation and Legal Issues,” covering global AI copyright infringement, defamation, and product liability cases, along with domestic regulations such as the Artificial Intelligence Basic Law. Mr. Ah Hyun Nam delivered “Recent Developments in U.S. ITC and PTAB,” focusing on latest global trends such as the Domestic Industry Requirement at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and Discretionary Denial at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Finally, Mr. Il Gwon Kim spoke on “Latest Trends in Cross-Border Technology Disputes,” exploring cases involving attempts to bypass technological barriers in international transactions and key trends which companies should be aware of.

Lee & Ko’s IP & Technology Group is one of the leading technical legal expert teams in Korea, comprising approximately 80 intellectual property-specialized attorneys-at-law and around 80 patent attorneys with broad technical expertise in various aspects of IP. The group handles not only traditional IP matters- including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and unfair competition—but also a wide range of technology-related disputes and advisory work, such as biotechnology, AI and data-related disputes, semiconductors, and healthcare. With its technical expertise and unrivaled experience in the field, Lee & Ko’s IP & Technology Group provides a comprehensive one-stop legal service tailored to meet the needs of clients in various global IP disputes and related matters.

On Wednesday, November 19, Lee & Ko co-hosted a seminar titled "Trademark and Patent Law Essentials Every In-House Counsel Should Know" with the Korea In-house Counsel Association (KICA).

The seminar began with a welcome address by Mr. Un Ho Kim of Lee & Ko, and proceeded with two dedicated sessions on patent and trademark law tailored for in-house counsel, followed by a Q&A session.

The first session, presented by Ms. Eun Woo Lee of Lee & Ko, focused on "Trademark Law Essentials Every In-House Counsel Should Know." She discussed key considerations for trademark owners and users in the event of disputes, as well as strategies for securing and managing trademark rights.

The second session was delivered who spoke on "Patent Law Essentials Every In-House Counsel Should Know." Her presentation covered patent filing and registration procedures, patent trials and patent litigation, and pre- and post-dispute prevention strategies.

Lee & Ko’s IP & Technology Group is one of the leading technical legal expert teams in Korea, comprising approximately 80 intellectual property-specialized attorneys-at-law and around 80 patent attorneys with broad technical expertise across various fields. The group handles not only traditional IP matters—including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and unfair competition—but also a wide range of technology-related disputes and advisory work, such as product liability, product defect claims, medical devices, biotechnology, semiconductors, automobiles, software development disputes, AI and data-related disputes, and disputes involving manufacturing facilities. Drawing on extensive practical experience and expertise related to technology disputes, the group will continue to provide in-house counsel with the highest level of comprehensive legal services tailored to their needs.

Lee & Ko's IP Group held a joint seminar on Thursday, July 10, 2025, with AIK Law Office from Japan, titled “Recent Trends and Issues in Japanese IP Practice.” 
 
Together with AIK Law, Lee & Ko’s IP Group has regularly hosted joint seminars focusing on how Korean companies can practically respond and what to consider when IP disputes or acquisition matters arise in Japan. The seminar was moderated by Attorney Yikang Kang (Lee & Ko).
 
For the first session, Attorney Makoto Hattori (AIK) presented on Patent Infringement Litigation Practice in Japan. Mr. Hattori emphasized that Japanese courts have recently prioritized procedural scheduling, and provided detailed statistics on average trial durations, rulings, and damages awarded in IP cases. Attorney Heon Lee (Lee & Ko) presented next on Korea’s patent infringement procedures and practical aspects from a comparative law perspective.

In the following session, Patent Attorney Shimako Kato (AIK) presented on patent invalidity procedures and practice in Japan, noting that Japan’s patent invalidation rate is significantly lower than Korea’s, reflecting a focus on protecting patent holders. Following Ms. Kato’s presentation, Attorney in Lee & Ko provided a comparative review of Korea’s trial decision system and relevant Supreme Court decisions. 
 
For the third session, Attorney Emiko Maki (AIK) presented on protection of trade secrets in Japan, detailing the expanded scope of presumed trade secret infringement under the April 2024 amendment. Attorney Soojeong Kang (Lee & Ko) then discussed a comparative law review of Korea’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act in view of the Japanese law.
 
For the last session, Attorney Chitaka Iwama (AIK) presented on recent notable patent cases in Japan. Ms. Iwama gave detailed presentations on Japanese Supreme Court’s landmark Dwango case, Japanese IP High Court’s case related to industrial applicability of medical practice invention, and Japanese district court’s case related to FRAND rate setting in Japan for standard-essential patents. Attorney Ahhyun Nam (Lee & Ko) then examined Korean case precedents in the comparative law perspective. 
 
Lee & Ko’s IP Group is composed of over 140 IP experts, making it the largest IP dedicated team in Korea. In addition, professionals with deep expertise across diverse fields collaborate closely to provide swift and efficient legal services. 
 

On April 26, 2024, Lee & Ko jointly held the seminar titled ‘Response & Strategies for Trade Secret Disputes and Technology Theft’ with a globally renowned U.S. law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. In this Seminar, experts from both firms provided practical guidelines for in-house counsels on how a company can properly handle trade secrets and prevent technology theft. In the first session, Ms. Nicole (JungEun) Lee of Gibson Dunn presented on topics related to managing trade secrets and preventing misappropriation (titled U.S. Trade Secrets Litigation Updates and Takeaways for In-house Professionals) and Ms. Angelique Kaounis of Gibson Dunn answered questions afterward. In the second session, Mr. Heon Lee and Mr. Hong Seon Kim of Lee & Ko presented on latest trends in trade secret misappropriation suit decisions and response strategies for in-house counsels. 

Lee & Ko IP Group boasts over 120 professionals with expertise in various aspects of IP. In particular, former IP High Court judges and IPTAB examiners can provide invaluable advice to stakeholders, and most of the Group’s professionals has advanced degrees in science and technology to provide the most effective and prompt legal services in global IP disputes and advisory works alike.

On December 1, 2022 (Thursday), Lee & Ko held a seminar on ‘Changes and Relevant Remedies in the Intellectual Property Environment.’

The expansion of remote/non-contact lifestyle has accelerated changes in industrial structures, subsequently resulting in various changes being detected in intellectual property laws. Regulations for big data protection were recently established in the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (“KIPO”) has implemented examination guidelines for virtual goods such as those in the Metaverse. Recently, the KIPO invalidated the patent application for which an AI was indicated as the inventor. In this seminar, Mr. Heon Lee, Mr. Jaewoo Kwak, and Mr. Junghwan Maeng of Lee & Ko participated as speakers presenting on the changes and relevant remedies in the intellectual property environment, which were followed by question and answer sessions.

In the first session, Mr. Heon Lee discussed ‘Latest IP Case Law Trends,’ where he presented on the latest major court decisions and trends regarding petitioner’s identification and respondent’s practice of compared invention in a scope confirmation trial, assertion of the grace period for exception to disclosure in divisional applications, distinctiveness of composite trademarks, and data collection through web crawling.

In the second session, discussed ‘Burden of Proof of Patentability and Selection Inventions.’ Here, Ms. Kim emphasized that whereas a selection invention is one that is included in a prior art and its novelty should be denied, there are exceptional circumstances where novelty/inventiveness is not denied when there is heterogeneity/remarkability of effect for the entire selection, and the burden of proving the existence of such exceptional circumstances is reverted to the patentee.

In the third session, Mr. Jaewoo Kwak discussed ‘Metaverse: Changes and Corporate Response to the New Virtual Fusion Platform.’ Here, Mr. Kwak explained the precautions for concluding a Metaverse-related contract and the new KIPO prosecution guidelines for virtual products for the protection of trademark rights in the Metaverse. Mr. Kwak also explained the IP issues relating to virtual influencers, such as copyrights, trademarks, and publicity, which are the latest topics in the entertainment/advertisement industry.

In the fourth session, Mr. Junghwan Maeng discussed ‘Tech Company’s Computer Program Development and Precautions for its Use.’ Here, Mr. Maeng introduced various types of software disputes and issues that program developers and users must know about, emphasizing the importance of always recognizing the possibility of copyright disputes in the process of using software and establishing remedies in advance.