DR & AJU successfully assisted Client in defending their service mark right, of which the estimated value was at least multi-billion won, by successfully defending Client in a dispute involving a renowned trademark in the language teaching business.

In this case, Plaintiff asserted the following claims: (i) Since Defendant failed to pay the usage fee for the transfer of a service mark right, the transfer contract can be terminated due to default; (ii) Plaintiff transferred the service mark right on the premise that Defendant company operating under the Plaintiff’s management authority. As Plaintiff lost this authority, the transfer contract can be terminated due to the change in conditions; (iii) the transfer of service mark right was a contribution in kind that was not stated in Defendant’s article of association, rendering it invalid under the Article 290 of the Commercial Act.

In response, DR & AJU, representing Defendant, presented the following counterarguments: (i) there was no contract between Plaintiff and Defendant regarding payment for the transfer of the service mark right; (ii) there was no change in condition that would justify excluding the effect of the service mark right transfer contract; (iii) the transfer of the service mark right was conducted 14 years after the establishment of the Defendant company, making the application of Article 290 of the Commercial Act on company establishment inapplicable. The court accepted the DR & AJU’s arguments and rejected the entire claims of Plaintiff.

If the claim of Plaintiff had been accepted, Defendant would have been obligated to transfer the trademark in question to Plaintiff. However, DR & AJU developed defense arguments against the Plaintiff’s claims and effectively persuaded the court, successfully safeguarding the Defendant’s asset estimated worth billions of won.