The Korean Appraisers Association has expressed strong opposition to a proposed amendment to the Patent Attorney Act currently pending in the National Assembly, calling it a "toxic provision that legally permits conflicts of interest."
The association stated on July 6 that it has continuously communicated its objections and suggestions for amendments to the Intellectual Property Office since discussions began in March, but has only received generic responses.
The primary concern raised by the association is Article 7-5, Section 1, Subsection 1 of the amendment, which allows patent attorneys to conduct appraisals of patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks for which they have directly represented clients.
The association criticized this provision as permitting "self-appraisal," where a patent attorney evaluates their own represented patents, undermining the objectivity and fairness that are vital to the appraisal market. They warned that this could send a dangerous signal that encourages fraudulent patent applications and inadequate evaluations, ultimately causing significant harm to the national economy.
In fact, major professional qualification systems in South Korea, including those for appraisers (Article 25 of the Appraisal Act), lawyers (Article 51 of the Attorney Act), and certified public accountants (Article 21 of the Certified Public Accountant Act), strictly prohibit any work that poses a conflict of interest or raises concerns about unfair practices. The association argues that the proposed amendment is regressive, allowing typical conflict-of-interest situations that other professions are prohibited from engaging in.
The association has consistently proposed amendments and collaborative solutions to the Intellectual Property Office to resolve the conflict, but claims the office has maintained a "no amendments" policy and has only engaged in a superficial consultation process. They also dismissed claims made by the head of the Intellectual Property Office in March that sufficient consultations with relevant organizations had taken place as inaccurate.
Furthermore, the association emphasized the need for a strict national oversight system to be explicitly stated in the law, including significantly strengthening the disciplinary provisions for patent attorneys to prevent a recurrence of past cases of inadequate patent value assessments.
Yang Gil-soo, president of the Appraisers Association, cautioned against viewing the issue as merely a turf battle among professional qualifications, stating, "The valuation of intellectual property rights requires collaboration between the expertise of appraisers and the technical expertise of patent attorneys, and the amendment should not become a source of conflict."
An industry insider remarked, "Valuations must be determined objectively and independently from clients, but this amendment effectively legitimizes conflicts of interest by allowing patent attorneys to appraise their own represented items, creating a structure that encourages evaluations tailored to client preferences and risks promoting illegal activities."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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