부정경쟁방지법상 주지성의 지역적 범위에 관한 소고 －일본 부정경쟁방지법과의 비교법적 고찰－

Unfair Competition Prevention Law Articles 2, (1), (ⅰ) and (ⅱ) provide the basic context for this subject. According to Unfair Competition Prevention Law Articles 2, (1), (ⅰ) and (ⅱ), “Acts of unfair competition” mean acts causing confusion with other well-known indication of goods or commerce in Korea. This means that other well-known indication of goods or commerce, not in a foreign country, but among Korean consumers. Thus, the Regional Scope of Well-Knownness under Unfair Competition Prevention Law requires that the indication of goods or commerce are well-known in Korea. If the goods or commerce are only well-known indication in a foreign country, they can’t be a object of protection under Unfair Competition Prevention Law. Regional scope of the well-knownness in Korea does not necessarily mean that it should be well-known to every person throughout the country. Judicial precedents consistently show that if a trademark is well-known to merchandisers or consumers in a certain area, that sufficient to establish the well-knownness. Regional scope of the well-knownness in Unfair Competition Law does have its own importance and concrete standards of judgement are required. In Japan, there are various cases related to the regional scope of the well-knownness. Specifically, there are many cases related to the conflict of well-knownness to each other in another area caused by business expansion. In order to solve the conflict of well-known indications to each other, Unfair Competition Prevention Law also should accept the same provision as Right to Continued Use of a indication by Virtue of Prior Use in Korean Trademark Law or Japan Unfair Competition Prevention Law.