Forum held at Cosmax's Pangyo R&I Center

Parties discuss IP protection for cosmetics industry

Views exchanged on countering technology leaks, improving regulations

Cosmax proposes improvements to design examination process

Officials from Cosmax and the Korean Intellectual Property Office pose for a photo at a forum held at Cosmax's R&I Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday. Cosmax CEO Choi Kyung is seventh from left and Korean Intellectual Property Office Deputy Commissioner Jeong Yeon-woo is eighth from left. [Cosmax]
Officials from Cosmax and the Korean Intellectual Property Office pose for a photo at a forum held at Cosmax's R&I Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday. Cosmax CEO Choi Kyung is seventh from left and Korean Intellectual Property Office Deputy Commissioner Jeong Yeon-woo is eighth from left. [Cosmax]

The Korean Intellectual Property Office visited global cosmetics ODM company Cosmax to hear firsthand concerns from the industry about protecting K-beauty intellectual property.

Cosmax announced Monday that Korean Intellectual Property Office Deputy Commissioner Jeong Yeon-woo and other officials visited the company's R&I Center in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday.

The visit was arranged to strengthen communication and cooperation with the fast-growing cosmetics industry. The two sides shared challenges related to intellectual property protection that arise during the research and development process in the cosmetics ODM sector, and discussed ways to improve regulations to bolster industry competitiveness.

At the meeting, the Korean Intellectual Property Office presented its policy direction under the theme of "Trends in intellectual property protection policy for the innovative growth of Korea's cosmetics industry."

Drawing on its experience in research, development and manufacturing, Cosmax proposed three regulatory improvements: refining the categories of design examination subjects, including cosmetics containers; standardizing compound notation for chemical inventions; and clarifying the requirements for ODM companies to report counterfeit products and request investigations.

Cosmax is the world's top cosmetics ODM company by sales and has been working to secure proprietary technology and protect intellectual property. As of the third quarter of this year, the company has filed about 2,000 cumulative patent applications and registered about 900.

As the K-beauty industry grows, so does the importance of intellectual property protection. K-beauty exports for the first three quarters of this year reached $11.13 billion, up 31 percent from the same period last year, marking a record high. South Korea has established itself as the world's second-largest cosmetics exporter, behind France.

Cosmetics ODM companies are responsible for developing and manufacturing products for multiple customers, meaning they must protect not only their own technology but also clients' research and development information and trade secrets. Preventing technology leaks and strengthening intellectual property protection frameworks have thus emerged as key challenges for sustaining the K-beauty industry's continued growth.

"Core technologies and trademarks built through years of research and development are the backbone of the cosmetics industry's competitiveness," Jeong said. "We will further strengthen our technology leak response and intellectual property protection policies to ensure that the technologies and intellectual property that Korean cosmetics companies have worked hard to develop are fully protected."

"For an ODM company, technology is both the trust we build with our customers and our competitiveness itself," Cosmax CEO Choi Kyung said. Choi added that the company hopes voices from the field will lead to regulatory improvements that help safeguard K-beauty's technological edge.


boo@heraldcorp.com