Study on the legal system alignment of Invention Promotion Act and Its Relationship with the Framework Act on Intellectual Property

Abstract

The Invention Promotion act is one of the acts that have been frequently revised. Such frequent revisions have been pointed out as a major cause of the recent ongoing discussion on the alignment of the Invention Promotion Act. For proper alignment of the Act, diversified perspectives and issues have been discussed. Of them, the talk considering the effect of the 2011 Framework Act on Intellectual Property establishment on the Invention Promotion Act has received increasing attention. In this situation, this paper examined the relationship between the Framework Act and Invention Act with special focus on the relationship between the framework-formed law and an individual act that has existed prior to such a framework act. Based on this analysis, this study examined the alignment goal of the Invention Act. In addition, by studying the relationship between the recently-established framework act and the individual act along with revision case examples thereof, this paper aimed to produce a standard reflecting the legal reality. This study assumed that, although it is difficult to recognize any formal superiority in the Framework Act on Intellectual Property in the present South Korean legal regime, some practical superiority or practical supremacy is still deemed to be acknowledged. Under this assumption, it was found in this study that the Invention Promotion Act would also need to be managed in an appropriate relationship with the Framework Act within the range of such an attitude. Moreover, the structure would need to be reorganized. As discussed partially at the practical level, however, the Invention Promotion Act is an execution act of the Framework Act on Intellectual Property. Furthermore, it is inappropriate to seek to converge the full structures completely, given the limitations of the South Korean legal regime and the fairness balance with other legal cases. It is deemed that, although the provisions of the Framework Act on Intellectual property should be considered at the practical level, the Invention Promotion Act will need to be respected for its legislative purpose in itself.