KG Mobility may lose its name to trademark troll

KG Mobility Corp., South Korean automaker specializing in sport utility vehicles, is on the brink of losing its new name, which could deal a blow to its plans to accelerate its global push under a new owner after dropping its old name Ssangyong Motor Co.

According to the Korean automotive industry on Friday, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) rejected KG Mobility’s application to register its name as a trademark in September, saying that the name is already registered as a trademark in about 30 countries.

According to the Paris Convention, once an intellectual property or a trademark is registered in a certain country, it is protected equally across other countries, a KIPO official explained.

KG Mobility was trademarked with the European Union before the Korean automaker applied for its name, the KIPO said.   

The Korean carmaker has already appealed the KIPO’s decision, but it normally takes at least a year for a decision to be reached after an appeal.

While waiting for a decision, the company said it would use the name KGM in overseas markets.

However, if its appeal is rejected again, it would have to give up KG Mobility as its name even in Korea, which could delay the automaker’s plan to expand its business at home and abroad after dropping the SsangYong Motor name earlier this year.

TRADEMARK TROLL IS BEHIND

Debt-ridden Ssangyong Motor was taken over by chemical-to-steel firm KG Group in June last year, and it was renamed KG Mobility in March this year.

It applied with the KIPO to register its English name as a trademark in April.

But the name was already registered in the EU, Türkiye and Australia a month earlier by Cihan Turan, a company known as a trademark troll, which attempts to register an asserted company name without intending to use it but only to monetize its rights.

Cihan Turan also trademarked Apex Legends, the name of the video game published by Electronic Arts Inc., in February before the US game company registered it.

Considering that it has been widely known that SsangYong Motor under KG Group would change its name to KG Mobility since late last year, Cihan Turan must have taken advantage of it to monetize its rights by registering it as a trademark before KG Mobility, said an industry official.

It is known that Cihan Turan will demand royalties for the Korean automaker to use the name KG Mobility.

NO DELAY TO ITS GLOBAL EXPANSION 

The Korean carmaker said its trademark infringement dispute would not impede its global push and vehicle exports.

It has signed multiple partnership agreements with foreign peers to assemble its cars overseas and export them from its Korean plant.

It in March agreed with Vietnam’s Kim Long Motor to export knock-down kits for their assembly in the Southeast Asian country.

It is also working with The Saudi National Automotive Manufacturing Co. (SNAM) on knock-down kits and automotive kits assembly in the Middle Eastern country.

The company strives to diversify its lineup by adding electric vehicles and developing autonomous driving technology.

The SUV-focused carmaker now produces the Torres, Tivoli, Korando, Rexton and Rexton Sports SUVs.

Write to Sungsu Bae and Nan-Sae Bin at baebae@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.