최근 TV프로그램 '백종원의 골목식당'을 통해 유명해진 포항의 음식점 상표를 제3자가 출원해 논란이 되고 있다. 방송 후 관련 없는 제3자가 먼저 출원해 포항 식당 측이 상표권을 확보하지 못하는 것 아니냐는 우려가 제기되기도 했다. 21일 특허청에 따르면 우리나라 상표법은 선출원주의를 채택하고 있지만, 무조건 먼저 출원한 사람이 상표를 등록받는 것은 아니다. 현행 상표법에 따르면 특정인의 출처표시로 인식된 상표를 타인이 먼저 출원했다 해도 상표법 제34조 제1항 제12호(수요자 기만)나 제13호(부정목적 출원) 등에 의해 등록받지 못할 수 있다. 본인이 사용하고 있는 상호 등을 제3자가 무단으로 출원한 사실을 알게 된 경우, 그 상표가 등록되기 전에는 정보제공 및 이의신청을 할 수 있고 상표등록 후에는 무효심판을 청구할 수 있다. 따라서 가로채기·모방 출원에 대해 적극적으로 대응할 필요가 있다. 또 상표법은 '소상공인 등을 위한 성명·상호 등의 선

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, taking a cue from an overnight rise on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 5.42 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,363.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks got a boost from US peers, despite lingering uncertainties from the ongoing talks for the new US virus relief package. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.33 percent on Tuesday (New York time), with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding

The Navy has received the military's first vessel designed for training, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday, as the country pushes to enhance naval combat capabilities. The 4,500-ton Hansando is equipped with stealth functions and a computer-based training system to allow trainees to take part in simulated combat exercises, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. Previously, the Navy had to use warships temporarily for the education and training of its troops. The

South Korea's producer prices rose for the fourth straight month in September, due largely to increased costs of agricultural, livestock and fishery goods, central bank data showed Wednesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, inched up 0.1 percent in September from the previous month, slowing from a 0.5 percent on-month gain in August, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the fourth consecutive month of increase after the price index stayed flat in

Young South Korean workers have borne the brunt of the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak that first struck Asia's fourth-largest economy in late January, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed South Koreans began to dwindle in March in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19 as the flu-like disease made a big dent in the economy. The first outbreak resulted in a tumble in the number of employed people in April, and a resurgence of infections that started in mid-August jolted the local

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports fell 5.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of October amid the fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak, customs data showed Wednesday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $25.2 billion in the Oct. 1-20 period, compared with $26.7 billion a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports, however, rose 5.9 percent on-year in the Oct. 1-20 period, the Korea Customs Service said. This month, fewer working days from the Ch

WASHINGTON -- US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden would likely pursue a step-by-step approach toward North Korea with reciprocal benefits for both sides if elected, a former US State Department adviser on nonproliferation and arms controls said Tuesday. Robert Einhorn, now serving as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, declared US President Donald Trump's maximum pressure campaign has failed. "A Biden administration won't give up the ultimate goal of complete denuclea

WASHINGTON -- The United States sees a need to formalize a NATO-like joint structure for security in the Indo-Pacific region, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said Tuesday. The No. 2 US diplomat dismissed views that the country may be seeking to expand the so-called Quad grouping, but said it would welcome any country committed to defending a free and open Indo-Pacific. "I will say that it is our view that in the passage of time, the Quad should become more regularized and at s

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to face ongoing threats from rogue states such as North Korea, US. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Tuesday, highlighting the need to further enhance his country's alliances and defense capabilities. "Since my confirmation as secretary of defense well over a year ago, my No. 1 priority has been implementing the national defense strategy (NDS). The NDS tells us that we are now in an era of great power competition, with our primary competitors b

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has pledged to further boost friendly relations with China, the North's state media said Tuesday. Kim said he would make positive efforts with Chinese President Xi Jinping to "further consolidate and develop the traditional DPRK-China friendly relations," the North's Korean Central News Agency reported, using the acronym of the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim made the remarks on Monday in a reply message to Xi, who

SUWON -- A leading MVP candidate in South Korean baseball will be tested for the novel coronavirus later Tuesday after developing a high fever. The KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization said Tuesday that slugging outfielder Mel Rojas Jr. will undergo a test for COVID-19, with the result expected sometime Wednesday. Rojas Jr. was ruled out of Tuesday's home game against the LG Twins at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, after his fever reached 37.2 degrees Celsius earlier i

South Korea's state pension fund said Tuesday it has partnered with its Dutch counterpart to make joint investments in overseas assets. The National Pension Service has recently joined hands with APG Asset Management, which runs the biggest Dutch pension fund, to explore investment opportunities in global markets, the NPS said in a statement. The partnership came as the Korean pension fund increases the ratio of alternative investments in global markets amid low rates and an extended slowdown,

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, on Tuesday launched the upgraded G70 sedan under its independent Genesis brand in the domestic market to boost sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The facelifted G70 comes with a 2.0-liter gasoline turbocharged engine, a 2.2 diesel engine or a 3.3 gasoline turbocharged engine, the company said in a statement. The upgraded version of the first-generation G70 underwent major design changes and features a wide and deep crest grille, quad headlamps

A consumer advocacy group has recommended South Korea's three major telecom operators compensate users for the mediocre quality of their 5G services, a civic group said Tuesday. Since last December, 21 5G subscribers filed for mediation from the Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations (KNCCO), taking issue with the accessibility to the latest mobile network provided by SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), which negotia

A delivery man took his own life in Busan early Tuesday, police and a courier labor union said, as apparent deaths from overwork and poor working conditions among couriers have surfaced as a social issue. The man, 50, working for Logen Logistics Co., died of suicide at around 3 a.m., some 30 minutes after he sent a handwritten note to his colleague via cell phone messenger. In the letter that starts with "I feel victimized," the man, whose identity was withheld, said he had been stru

Environment officials of South Korea and the European Union on Tuesday discussed expanding cooperation on Seoul's plan for a "Green New Deal," the environment ministry said. The discussions, the second of their kind, took place during a virtual meeting led by Ahn Se-chang, a ministry official overseeing climate change policy, and Astrid Schomaker of the European Commission's Directorate General for the Environment. The Green New Deal is a government-wide project being pushed by Seoul

South Korean power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Tuesday it has signed a $787 million deal to build a coal-fired power plant in northeastern Vietnam. Under the deal with Vapco, a Vietnamese unit of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco), Doosan Heavy Industries will build the plant and provide equipment including boilers from March 2021 to February 2025, the company said in a regulatory filing. Early this month, the board of Kepco decided to take

North Korea is developing its missile capabilities at a pace much faster than expected, significantly narrowing the gap in weapons technology with South Korea, the chief of a state-run defense development agency said Tuesday. Nam Sae-kyu, head of the Agency for Defense Development, made the remark during a parliamentary audit session, providing an analysis on the weapons the North unveiled in a recent military parade. "I thought we were some 20 years ahead in terms of solid (propellant) b

South Korean shares rose for a second straight session Tuesday, as investors hold on to hopes for progress in the new US stimulus talks. The Korean won rose to an 18-month high against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 11.67 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,358.41. Trading volume was moderate at about 862 million shares worth some 11.7 trillion won ($10.3 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 514 to 323. Foreigners boug

The unification ministry is looking into speculation that a state-run port operator has secretly pushed to invest in North Korea despite global sanctions, a ministry official said Tuesday. Opposition lawmaker Rep. Kwon Seong-dong raised the possibility that the Busan Port Authority is pushing for cooperation with a Chinese firm in investing in the North's northeastern port town of Rajin. He made the claim based on a document obtained from the state-run firm that controls terminals in the count