Recently, K-beauty has been growing, focusing on high-functionality, clean beauty, and targeting global Gen Z. Driven by the popularity of Hallyu content, it is gaining attention not only in Asia but also in the North American and European markets. Brands like 'Beauty of Joseon' and 'Round Lab' are expanding their presence with ingredient-focused skincare and sophisticated branding. Furthermore, with marketing strategies utilizing digital channels such as Amazon and TikTok and rapid product development cycles, K-beauty is strengthening its global competitiveness, establishing itself as an independent category beyond a mere trend.
For K-beauty to truly evolve into a premium brand, it must secure competitiveness in the 'global prestige beauty market.' If K-beauty is to gain sustained popularity and interest from consumers worldwide, not just a temporary fad, it is crucial to establish clear positioning and brand image, similar to prestige beauty brands. While trademark protection is, of course, important for securing a distinct brand image, protecting the product's external appearance through design rights is also very important.
Many beauty brands think, 'It's difficult to protect the product's appearance through design because we buy containers from manufacturers like 'Yonwoo' and attach our designed labels to them for sale.' However, not only cosmetic containers produced with new shapes, but also cosmetic containers that combine existing containers with unique design labels, and cosmetic packaging boxes with unique designs applied, can be secured with design rights.
[Amorepacific's Design Right for the Container's Appearance (Registration No. KR 30-1285657)]
Amorepacific not only secures design rights for containers made with new shapes but also for existing containers with distinctive designs applied. Moreover, Amorepacific also secures design rights for packaging boxes that, although general box shapes, feature distinctive designs of their products.
[Amorepacific's Design Right for Mamonde Product Containers with Designs Applied to Existing Containers
(Registration No. KR 30-1263327)]
[Amorepacific's Packaging Box Design Right (Registration No. 30-1308496)]
As shown in Amorepacific's case, packaging boxes can be filed as drawings of the folded state of the product packaging box, or they can be filed and registered as unfolded cosmetic packaging box blanks, as shown below. And, as can be seen in the case below, it is not necessary for the packaging box to have a complex or unusual design to be registered as a design.
[Example of a Design Registered by Filing a Unfolded Cosmetic Packaging Box Blank
(Registration No. KR 30-1280451)]
Furthermore, cosmetic containers do not necessarily have to have a design applied overall to the container to be registered as a design right, as seen in Amorepacific's Mamonde product container. As can be seen from Innisfree's cosmetic container design right below, container design rights can be secured even with just the outer shape of the container featuring a distinctive placement of the logo and descriptive text. Also, as can be seen from Illiyoon's cosmetic container design right, container design rights can be secured even if the logo and text are not placed throughout the entire container, but rather the design is applied only to the label attached to a general container.
[Innisfree's Cosmetic Container Design Right, Featuring Design Placement of Trademark and Descriptive Text
(Registration No. KR 30-1210996)]
[Illiyoon's Cosmetic Container Design Right, with Only a Label Attached to a General Container
(Registration No. KR 30-1256567)]
Cosmetic containers fall under the "partial examination" category for registration requirements, allowing for quick registration with only a partial examination, which is relatively easier and faster than full examination cases. Therefore, cosmetic brands can file design registration applications for cosmetic containers based on the exact appearance of the product container and packaging box once the container label design and packaging box design are finalized, shortly before product launch. This allows them to secure design rights quickly and then launch their products.
Counterfeit brands, in addition to mimicking trademark names to piggyback on popular brands, also create similar cosmetic container label designs and container boxes to mislead consumers into mistaking counterfeit products for those of popular brands, or as products associated with popular brands. We hope that K-beauty brands, which are currently firmly establishing their brand recognition, can protect themselves from such counterfeiting attempts by securing design rights for their containers, thus solidifying their position as global prestige beauty brands.
Karl Taekyun Chung
Managing Partner, Patent Attorney
BLT Patent & Law Firm
#KBeauty #Cosmetics #CosmeticBrand #GlobalBrand #CosmeticDesign #CosmeticPackagingDesign #PrestigeBeauty #CosmeticDesignProtection #BrandProtection #DesignRightsStrategy #KBrandProtection #GlobalBrandStrategy #TrademarkInfringementPrevention #ContainerDesignRights #KBeautyGlobalStrategy #IntellectualPropertyRights #TrademarkRights #DesignRights #PatentLawFirm #PatentAttorney
Recently, K-beauty has been growing, focusing on high-functionality, clean beauty, and targeting global Gen Z. Driven by the popularity of Hallyu content, it is gaining attention not only in Asia but also in the North American and European markets. Brands like 'Beauty of Joseon' and 'Round Lab' are expanding their presence with ingredient-focused skincare and sophisticated branding. Furthermore, with marketing strategies utilizing digital channels such as Amazon and TikTok and rapid product development cycles, K-beauty is strengthening its global competitiveness, establishing itself as an independent category beyond a mere trend.
For K-beauty to truly evolve into a premium brand, it must secure competitiveness in the 'global prestige beauty market.' If K-beauty is to gain sustained popularity and interest from consumers worldwide, not just a temporary fad, it is crucial to establish clear positioning and brand image, similar to prestige beauty brands. While trademark protection is, of course, important for securing a distinct brand image, protecting the product's external appearance through design rights is also very important.
Many beauty brands think, 'It's difficult to protect the product's appearance through design because we buy containers from manufacturers like 'Yonwoo' and attach our designed labels to them for sale.' However, not only cosmetic containers produced with new shapes, but also cosmetic containers that combine existing containers with unique design labels, and cosmetic packaging boxes with unique designs applied, can be secured with design rights.
[Amorepacific's Design Right for the Container's Appearance (Registration No. KR 30-1285657)]
Amorepacific not only secures design rights for containers made with new shapes but also for existing containers with distinctive designs applied. Moreover, Amorepacific also secures design rights for packaging boxes that, although general box shapes, feature distinctive designs of their products.
[Amorepacific's Design Right for Mamonde Product Containers with Designs Applied to Existing Containers
(Registration No. KR 30-1263327)]
[Amorepacific's Packaging Box Design Right (Registration No. 30-1308496)]
As shown in Amorepacific's case, packaging boxes can be filed as drawings of the folded state of the product packaging box, or they can be filed and registered as unfolded cosmetic packaging box blanks, as shown below. And, as can be seen in the case below, it is not necessary for the packaging box to have a complex or unusual design to be registered as a design.
[Example of a Design Registered by Filing a Unfolded Cosmetic Packaging Box Blank
(Registration No. KR 30-1280451)]
Furthermore, cosmetic containers do not necessarily have to have a design applied overall to the container to be registered as a design right, as seen in Amorepacific's Mamonde product container. As can be seen from Innisfree's cosmetic container design right below, container design rights can be secured even with just the outer shape of the container featuring a distinctive placement of the logo and descriptive text. Also, as can be seen from Illiyoon's cosmetic container design right, container design rights can be secured even if the logo and text are not placed throughout the entire container, but rather the design is applied only to the label attached to a general container.
[Innisfree's Cosmetic Container Design Right, Featuring Design Placement of Trademark and Descriptive Text
(Registration No. KR 30-1210996)]
[Illiyoon's Cosmetic Container Design Right, with Only a Label Attached to a General Container
(Registration No. KR 30-1256567)]
Cosmetic containers fall under the "partial examination" category for registration requirements, allowing for quick registration with only a partial examination, which is relatively easier and faster than full examination cases. Therefore, cosmetic brands can file design registration applications for cosmetic containers based on the exact appearance of the product container and packaging box once the container label design and packaging box design are finalized, shortly before product launch. This allows them to secure design rights quickly and then launch their products.
Counterfeit brands, in addition to mimicking trademark names to piggyback on popular brands, also create similar cosmetic container label designs and container boxes to mislead consumers into mistaking counterfeit products for those of popular brands, or as products associated with popular brands. We hope that K-beauty brands, which are currently firmly establishing their brand recognition, can protect themselves from such counterfeiting attempts by securing design rights for their containers, thus solidifying their position as global prestige beauty brands.
Karl Taekyun Chung
Managing Partner, Patent Attorney
BLT Patent & Law Firm
#KBeauty #Cosmetics #CosmeticBrand #GlobalBrand #CosmeticDesign #CosmeticPackagingDesign #PrestigeBeauty #CosmeticDesignProtection #BrandProtection #DesignRightsStrategy #KBrandProtection #GlobalBrandStrategy #TrademarkInfringementPrevention #ContainerDesignRights #KBeautyGlobalStrategy #IntellectualPropertyRights #TrademarkRights #DesignRights #PatentLawFirm #PatentAttorney