EU-RoK IP Action will enhance intellectual property cooperation between the EU and the Republic of Korea

On 3 July 2024, the launch event of the recently started project “EU-RoK Intellectual Property Action” was celebrated in Seoul.

The event was inaugurated by H.E. María Castillo Fernández, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Korea and Mr. Peob Min Ryu, Director General of FTA Negotiations of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea.

This represented an occasion for European and Korean stakeholders from the public and private sectors to meet, network and discuss the challenges, opportunities and future perspective of the technical IP cooperation between the EU and the RoK. In particular, a panel of experts representing the artificial intelligence (AI) industry discussed the opportunities and the challenges encountered on the regulatory side while doing business in the AI-related market in Korea.

“I am very pleased about our enhanced cooperation with the Republic of Korea on Intellectual Property matters under the new EU-funded program. IP plays an increasingly important role in our economies and this new IP program will be another important pillar of the close cooperation between the European Union and the Republic of Korea,” said the EU Ambassador.

“Korea-EU FTA has contributed to building mutual prosperity by strengthening IP protection and enforcement, and promoting strategic trust between Korea and the EU. With Korea-EU FTA platform to build upon, cooperation on IP between Korea and the EU will play an even more important role in light of unprecedented challenges brought by AI technology many of our nations are dealing with,” said the Director General for FTA Negotiations of MOTIE.

On 4 July 2024, the Seminar on Public Performance Right was organised in collaboration with the Korean authorities including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST). The seminar focused on discussing the way the public performance right is regulated and functions in practice in the EU and Korea. It highlighted challenges and opportunities for further alignment of the practices.

The launch event and the seminar on public performance rights set the starting point of a new reinforced framework for cooperation between the EU and the RoK on matters related to intellectual property.