1. Reasons for Enactment

The Amendment enhances the professionalism, safety, and transparency of trademark examination support programs by adding qualification requirements for investigators, clearly specifying grounds to restrict specialized institutions from program participation, and modifying provisions to prescribe that businesses and specialized institutions shall be primarily managed and supervised by a dedicated institution.

2. Major Provisions

A. Add qualification requirements for investigators (domestic/international: trademark information search professional) (international: English language test) and modify the duration of investigator training according to investigation experience, etc. (Article 8, Article 9, Article 10, Article 11).

B. Exclude any specialized institution that executes the program in bad faith (placed in the bottom 20% or the lowest in two consecutive evaluations) or unfairly from participating in trademark investigation analysis and classification programs (Article 19 (2), Article 20-2 (1)).

C. Add work volume limits for new investigators (80%) and grounds to withdraw work that has already been commissioned (suspension of business, revocation of registration, contract termination/modification, etc.) (Article 22 (1) and (6), Article 25 (1)).

D. Reorganize and simplify standards on quality evaluations ([Table 2]).

E. Delete provisions regarding preferential examinations in accordance with the amended Enforcement Decree of the Trademark Act (subparagraph 8 of Article 12 deleted) (Article 31, Article 32).

F. Reflect program/institution management functions that have been transferred to a dedicated institution and changes to department names, clarify other regulations, etc. (Article 4, Article 5, Article 6, Article 7, Article 12, Article 17, Article 18, Article 19, etc.).