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Patent Court Decision, 2016Heo229, dated July 8, 2016

The translation does not have any legal effect and the Judiciary of the Republic of Korea does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please refer to the original decision in Korean for an accurate statement of law.

 

 

PATENT COURT OF KOREA

FOURTH DIVISION

DECISION

 

Case No.:  2016Heo229 Final Rejection (Patent)

 

Plaintiff:  A

 

Defendant:  Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)

 

Closure of Hearing:  June 15, 2016

 

Date of Decision:  July 8, 2016

 

ORDER

 

1. The Plaintiff's claims are dismissed.

 

2. The trial costs shall be borne by the Plaintiff.

 

PLAINTIFF’S DEMAND

 

The decision of the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board ("IPTAB") issued on December 16, 2015, in Case No. 2015Won3630 shall be cancelled.

 

OPINION

 

1. Background Facts

 

A. Plaintiff's invention of the filed application regarding the subject case (Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 2 and Defendant's Exhibit No. 1)

 

1) Title of the Invention: Method of Preparing Functional Kimchi and Functional Kimchi Prepared Thereby

 

2) Filing date/Application No.: July 5, 2013/10-2013-78658

 

3) Claims (amended on January 15, 2015)

 

Claim 1: A method of preparing kimchi, the method comprising: washing and salting kimchi ingredients; preparing a silver solution containing silver ions; preparing spices for kimchi; preparing a kimchi seasoning sauce by mixing the silver solution with the spices for kimchi; and mixing the kimchi seasoning sauce with the kimchi ingredients.

 

Claim 2: The method according to claim 1, wherein a concentration of the silver ions in the silver solution is in a range of 4 ppm to 20 ppm.

 

Claim 3: The method according to claim 1, wherein the kimchi seasoning sauce is prepared by mixing 1,000 parts by weight of the spices for kimchi with 1 part to 2 parts by weight of the silver solution.

 

Claims 4: Kimchi prepared by using the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

 

4) Major Features of the Invention

 

The invention of the filed application regarding the subject case (hereinafter referred to as "the Subject Invention") relates to a method of preparing functional kimchi and functional kimchi prepared thereby, whereby kimchi has a longer distribution period by delaying maturation thereof by using nanoparticles of silver (or silver ions) and also kimchi has an antibacterial effect.

 

According to the related art disclosing kimchi and a method of preparing the same, kimchi ferments and matures so fast that it easily spoils. If kimchi spoils during a process of distribution, its value as a food ingredient halves. In this regard, kimchi remarkably loses its texture, and during fermentation, various germs may be produced in abundance, thereby leading to tainting of the unique taste of fermented and matured kimchi.

 

The Subject Invention aims to providing a method of preparing kimchi and kimchi prepared thereby, the method enabling the control of the fermentation and maturation speed of kimchi and the abundance of other germs produced during fermentation of kimchi.

 

  In order to achieve the objectives of the invention, the Subject Invention provides a method of preparing kimchi by mixing kimchi ingredients with a kimchi seasoning sauce, which is a mixture of spices for kimchi and a silver solution containing silver ions. Kimchi prepared by the disclosed method is effective in solving the problem of easy spoilage of kimchi due to the fast fermentation and maturation thereof.

 

B. History of the IPTAB decision

 

1) With regard to the Subject Invention, the Examiner issued the Notice of Preliminary Rejection to the Plaintiff on September 15, 2014, indicating that 「the Subject Invention relates to a method of preparing kimchi using 'silver', but the long-term intake of 'silver' is known to have an adverse effect such as chromodermatosis including argyria, abnormality of immune functions, nerve tissue lesions, etc. In this regard, the Subject Invention is deemed as an invention in breach of the public order and good morals or an invention likely to damage the public hygiene, and thus is not patentable under Article 32 of the Korean Patent Act」 (Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 3).

 

2) In response, the Plaintiff submitted on January 15, 2015, an Amendment for amending the scope of the claims of the Subject Invention and an Argument (Plaintiff's Exhibit 4), to overcome the above-mentioned reasons for rejection. However, the Examiner rendered a decision of rejection on May 15, 2015 because the above-mentioned reasons for rejection, indicating that the Subject Invention is deemed as an invention likely to damage the public hygiene, was not cleared by the Amendment (Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 5).

 

3) In response, the Plaintiff requested an appeal against the final decision with the IPTAB. The IPTAB examined the appeal case as Case No. 2015Won3630, and on December 16, 2015, and rendered a decision dismissing the Plaintiff's appeal on reasons stating that 「Kimchi prepared by using the method disclosed by the Subject Invention is likely to damage the public hygiene, and thus the Subject Invention is not patentable under Article 32 of the Korean Patent Act」 (Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 1).

 

2. Summary of the Plaintiff's Arguments

 

The Subject Invention relates to kimchi prepared by using a silver solution containing 'silver ions' rather than kimchi prepared by using 'silver' itself as a raw material. Thus, the Subject Invention cannot be concluded as an invention likely to damage the public hygiene on the basis of data on the hazard of 'silver' as stated in the Notice of Final Rejection of the Subject Invention. Moreover, the amount of 'silver ions' itself used in the Subject Invention is so negligible that there is no harm to the human body.

 

Previously, an invention relating to a beverage or the like containing silver ions has been registered as a patent at the KIPO, without applying Article 32 of the Korean Patent Act. Thus, the Examiner's action of issuing the Final Rejection, especially with regard to the Subject Invention, by applying Article 32 of the Korean Patent Act corresponds to an illegal administrative measure against the principle of trust protection.

 

The IPTAB decided, nevertheless, that the final rejection of the Subject Invention is legal. Therefore, the administrative decision on the subject case is illegal.

 

3. Whether IPTAB Erred

 

A. Whether or not the Subject Invention is likely to damage the public hygiene

 

However, it is correct to regard the Subject Invention as an invention that is likely to damage the public hygiene on the following grounds.

 

1) Regarding the Subject Invention, a silver solution containing 'silver ions' is used, rather than 'silver' itself, to solve the technical problems as asserted by the Plaintiff. However, considering first that silver (Ag) is a causative substance of diseases, such as argyria[1], upon long-term intake thereof in a large amount, the tissue deposition of silver is permanent, and there is no known effective treatment for argyria to date (Defendant's Exhibit No. 3).

 

2) In addition, according to the 『Food Criteria and Standard』[Annex 3] issued by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety under Article 7, Paragraph 1 of the Food Sanitation Act, which stipulates that the minister of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety shall determine and notify criteria in association with methods of preparing, processing, using, cooking, and preserving of food for the purpose of public hygiene, 'silver (Ag)' is designated as one of the "raw materials that cannot be used for food" (Defendant's Exhibit No. 10). In other words, the domestic law prohibits 'silver' from being used as a raw material for preparing, processing, and cooking food, regardless of its amount.

 

3) According to the search results of the 『Search for Food Ingredients』, which is a service provided by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, 'silver' is described as an "unavailable" food ingredient when considering whether or not silver is available as a food ingredient. In view of the safety and toxicity items, it is described that "silver (Ag) is a contaminant that the human body can be unintentionally exposed to through food, drinking water, or the like, and thus, shall not be taken separately, but in the case of intentional long-term intake of 'silver', silver is known to have an adverse effect such as chromodermatosis including as argyria, abnormality of immune functions, nerve tissue lesions, etc." (Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 7 and Defendant's Exhibit No. 2).

 

4) Additionally, like 'silver (Ag)', a 'silver ion (Ag+)' is also an ingredient that cannot be used for food. That is, argyria occurs when silver nitrate[2], which is a kind of silver salts, is taken for a long time. In detail, silver ions that are generated by ionizing silver nitrate are reduced to metal silver in vivo, and the reduced metal silver is deposited in the human body. In this regard, except for different chemical oxidation states between the silver ions and the metal silver, the silver ions are deemed to be the same as the metal silver as being harmful to the human body when taken in a large amount over a long period of time. In an actual domestic case, a consumer who took a silver solution containing a silver ion component for five years was diagnosed with argyria, and filed a compensation suit against the silver ionic water manufacturer (Defendant's Exhibit No. 11).

 

5) In particular, to prevent indiscriminate sales through the Internet or the like of silver solution-containing products including silver ionic components that are banned as food ingredients from manufacture and sale, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety took action on March 24, 2016, to prevent such products from being found through a keyword search advertisement and to request entry prohibition at the Customs. In addition, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also distributed a press release urging consumers to stop the intake of products containing a silver solution (Defendant's Exhibit No. 5).

 

6) Kimchi is a staple food that is consumed almost every day by the entire nation. Thus, if ingredients of which the stability is questioned are included in food, objective evidence or experimental data results are required for the ingredients to be fully confirmed in terms of their stability. Nevertheless, there is no objective data to acknowledge the stability, and furthermore, even if a negligible amount of silver ions in kimchi is harmless to the human body, the scope of the claims in the Subject Invention does not limit an amount of the silver ions.

 

B. Whether or not the administrative decision is an administrative measure against the principle of trust protection

 

However, it cannot be said that the final rejection on the Subject Invention is illegal due to violation of the principle of trust protection on the following grounds.

 

1) That is, considering the executive legal relationship, the government office should express an official view against individuals, in order to apply the principle of trust protection to acts of the government office. In this regard, when administrative measures are taken according to the official view, the administrative measures should not lead to the possibility of a risk of significant damage to the legitimate interests of the public or third parties.

 

2) Meanwhile, based on Plaintiff's Exhibit Nos. 9 to 11 and 14, it is admitted that the patent or utility model registrations disclose 'a method of preparing garlic salt using drinking water containing silver ions' (Registration No. 10-513249), 'an ionizer for silver ionic water' (Registration No. 20-471625), 'a device for preparing silver ionic water' (Registration No. 20-330784), and 'a health functional beverage containing silver ionic water' (Registration No. 10-1127707).

 

3) However, based only on the above circumstances, the KIPO does not seem to express directly to the Plaintiff the official view that an invention relating to food containing silver or a silver solution, such as the Subject Invention, does not correspond to an invention that is likely to damage the public hygiene. The KIPO examines each application to determine whether all requirements stipulated according to the Korean Patent Act are fulfilled, and allows patent registration of the application. Thus, there is no reason for the KIPO to be bound to each registration case of Plaintiff's Exhibit Nos. 9 to 11 and 14 provided by the Plaintiff.

 

4) Above all, the principle of trust protection propounded by the Plaintiff cannot take priority over Article 36, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution, which stipulates the national obligation to protect the health of the people. In other words, it is an inherent limit of the principle of trust protection that an administrative measure for the trust protection should not lead to the possibility of a risk of significant damage to the legitimate interests of the public or third parties.

 

4. Conclusion

 

Consequently, the Subject Invention corresponds to an invention that is likely to damage the public hygiene, and thus, is not patentable under Article 32 of the Korean Patent Act. Therefore, the administrative decision reaching the same conclusion as above was legal, and thus, the Plaintiff's request for cancellation of the administrative decision is groundless.

 

 

Presiding Judge Chungsuk LEE

Judge Hosan LEE

Judge Kisu KIM

 

 


[1] "Argyria" is a disease that causes bluish-grey or grey pigmentation abnormalities as a result of a long-term internal intake and external use of silver nitrate, wherein silver fine particles produced by reduction in vivo are deposited on the skin of the whole body in a general manner.

[2] “Silver nitrate” is a compound with the chemical formula AgNO3, and is also called a nitrate of silver as a kind of silver salt. Silver nitrate is ionized into Ag+ and NO3-, and accordingly, a silver ion (Ag+), which is a cation, is reduced to silver (Ag) by obtaining an electron in the body.