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Tip

The Secret of a Good Brand: The Delicate Balance Between "Intuition" and "Suggestion"

Tip

Published Jun 28, 2025

Seungjun Han

Deputy Managing Patent Attorney

The Secret of a Good Brand: The Delicate Balance Between "Intuition" and "Suggestion"

Tip

Published Jun 28, 2025

Seungjun Han

Deputy Managing Patent Attorney

This is a common question when startups are naming their brand.

"No matter how hard you look, most things are all in the key phrase. There is no trademark to apply for."

From the perspective of an agent (patent attorney), a "good trademark" must be able to be registered with the patent office.


However, coined terms like “꿺뚫툻” are easy to register but do not stick in consumers' memories at all.
On the other hand, “Skincare Lab” suggests specified products in the cosmetics field, so it cannot be registered.

Therefore, a good trademark is one that does not "instinctively" suggest specific products but is "implied" to some degree.

In 2016, our Supreme Court had a case where it was determined that “Alba Cheonguk” could not be "instinctively" understood regarding ‘employment introduction services, employment agency services’, but was merely "implied", thus deemed a valid trademark. I reflected a lot while looking at this precedent.

If you are considering brand naming, look for trademarks that may not be “instinctive” but are in the “implied” area.