Practice areas

Corporate; M&A; IP; unfair competition; litigation

Introduction

Jae Hoon Kim joined Lee & Ko in 1986 and practiced in the Corporate Practice Group for ten years. Mr. Kim then moved to head the IP Practice Group at Lee & Ko where he earned the reputation as a brilliant IP litigation strategist and was named as a top IP practitioner by numerous evaluators, including Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. In 2013, Mr. Kim became the managing partner of Lee & Ko.

Throughout his professional career, Mr. Kim has been involved in a number of landmark cases. He was the lead counsel in a patent infringement lawsuit in connection with diaper-related patents, another landmark case where he successfully vitiated the largest damages ever claimed in Korea. He also represented multinational companies in patent litigations covering chemical, pharmaceutical, bio-technology, mechanical, electrical, telecommunications, and computer software industries.

Mr. Kim has advised and represented numerous foreign trademark owners in trademark disputes enforcing their trademark rights. He has also represented a number of famous musical artists, actors and actresses in high-profile copyright disputes. In particular, he successfully represented a client in the first “functional drawing copyright” lawsuit in the history of Korean jurisprudence.

Mr. Kim’s in-depth experience in unfair competition covers a broad context, including trade secret misappropriation. He advised and represented a number of high-tech companies in cross-border trade secret misappropriation cases and assisted in establishing guidelines for trade secret protection. His enforcement strategies have also been proven effective against counterfeiters and cyber squatters in domain name disputes.

Mr. Kim is also an expert in IP licensing. He advised on numerous licensing matters that arise in connection with research and development, patents, trademarks, and know-how, In addition, he served as Vice-Chair for the distribution and licensing committee of the International Bar Association, drafted Korean Fair Trade Commission guidelines for licensing, and authored “Experience and Practice of Regulating Industrial Property Licensing and Transfer of Technology Agreement in Relation to Promotion of Trade and Investment in the Republic of Korea” (WIPO-1993).

Mr. Kim has been recognized for his ability to effectively manage product liability, environment and safety, white collar crime, and other complex cases that require organic and comprehensive collaboration of multiple practice areas and have far-reaching impact on the viability of the clients’ businesses in Korea and abroad.

Lastly, Mr. Kim’s experience in international franchises is unrivaled. He advised and represented franchisors in negotiations for international hotels, family restaurants, fast-food chains, and coffee franchises. He is a frequent lecturer at the International Franchise Lawyers Association and authored “Legislation and Regulation Relevant to Franchises in Korea” (IFLA-2003). Moreover, he is a lecturer at the Judicial Research and Training Institute of Korea and the International Intellectual Property Training Institute since 1993.

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