인터넷상 상표 사용의 다양화로 인한 분쟁과 해결방안

Generally, the use of trademark refers to being utilized for commercial transactions by indication it on goods or packaging of goods. In 2016, the Trademark Act was amended to regulate the use of trademarks on the Internet. However, as digital revolution made economic activities diversify, it is questionable whether the current provisons of the Trademark Act are able to cover the various types of the trademark use. In particular, it seems that current provisions of Trademark Act are insufficient to resolve disputes between domain names and trademarks, and between keyword search advertising and trademarks. In addition, with the acceleration of the non-face-to-face trend due to the 4th industrial revolution and Covid 19, more and more various types of trademark use are appearing. With the advent of Metaverse, it can be said that the transaction of digital goods and services in a virtual space such as an online platform is different from the traditional use of trademarks. Therefore, in order to reflect the new types of goods transaction in the digital era and to properly respond to related disputes such as trademark infringement, it seems necessary to expand the concept of trademark use. Finally, it is needed to start in-depth international discussions under the presiding of the World Intellectual Property Organization in order to establish desirable international norms in this regard.