TITLE	Supreme Court Decision 2017Hu2697 Decided March 29, 2018¡¼Invalidation of Registration (Trademark)¡½ [full Text]
Summary
[1] Method of determining the similarity of combined trademarks consisting of two or more letters or figures in cases where a trademark contains an essential part Whether a component of a trademark that has no or a weak distinctiveness may be deemed an essential part (negative) [2] Method of determining whether a component of a combined trademark exhibits distinctiveness to function as an essential part [3] In the case where Trademark Holder A of the first-to-file trademark ¡° ¡± brought a claim for registration invalidation adjudication against Service Mark Holder B, a foreign entity, of the registered service mark ¡° ,¡± of which the designated services fall under the category of ¡°retail services for a variety of goods in the field of metal and nonmetal accessories, bags, apparel, footwear, caps, and hats,¡± on the ground that the registered service mark shares a similarity with the first-to-file trademark, designated services or designated goods, the case holding that the lower court erred by misapprehending the legal doctrine on the similarity of service marks in determining otherwise when, in fact, the figure depicting the left side shape of a dog ( ) of the registered service mark cannot be deemed an essential part exhibiting independent distinctiveness

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