Near & Wise IP Law Office
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NEAR & WISE IP LAW OFFICE · SEOUL

Filing is the beginning.
Value realisation is the goal.

We begin with the technology, the brand and the product’s visual form. One responsible team handles patents, trademarks and designs from filing and disputes to international expansion and value realisation.

Start a conversation →Explore IP value
START HERE

What brings you here?

Start with
your objective

Cross-border matters are rarely simple. For Korean work or multi-jurisdiction portfolios, we work alongside your team from strategy through execution.

COMPANIES & R&D
✦

Companies & R&D

We structure domestic and international filings, registration, dispute response and value realisation around each stage of the business.

View services → FOREIGN ASSOCIATES
◎

Foreign associates · Korean matters

Complex Korean matters do not need to be handled alone. A responsible attorney who understands MOIP standards and local procedure works as an extension of your team, from strategy through reporting.

Partner on Korean matters → FOR IP FIRMS
◇

Korean IP firms · Global matters

For demanding multi-jurisdiction matters, we coordinate country strategy, trusted local counsel, translation and deadlines as an extension of your international team.

Partner on global matters →
AIPPIInternational patent network

Membership Committee Director

LESIInternational licensing network

YMC Director

INTA · APAATrademark and Asia-Pacific IP network

Direct links to local professionals

OCEAN TOMOIP transactions and valuation

Korea liaison

01 · ABOUT

Near in practice. Wise in strategy.

Near to our clients.
Wise in strategy.

Obtaining a right is not the end. The goal is to make it work for the business.

The attorney in charge works with you from start to finish. We preserve the technical context, read the business stage and competitive landscape, and design both the right protection method and the route to value realisation.

Registration is only the start. We make rights work in the business.Seungyeob Baik · Founding Partner
02 · ONE TEAM

Different expertise. One standard.

One team from technology
to value realisation

Four patent attorneys and one of-counsel attorney bring their expertise together, staying connected from the first technical question through protection, disputes and value realisation.

Seungyeob Baik · Patent & Trademark Attorney

Seungyeob Baik

Founding Partner

Patent & Trademark Attorney

B.S. Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University

Patents & trademarks · Korean and international filings · Disputes · IP valuation
Trademark filing · registrationBrand protectionHeavy industry · machinery · shipbuildingMedical devices · automotiveAI · software
Junhyung Jin · Patent & Trademark Attorney

Junhyung Jin

Partner

Patent & Trademark Attorney

B.S. Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University

Trademark filing and registration · Patent prosecution and disputes · Designs
Trademark filing · registrationBrand protectionConstruction · machineryMedical devices · HVACAutomotive
Taeweon Lyu · Patent & Trademark Attorney

Taeweon Lyu

Associate

Patent & Trademark Attorney

B.S. Electrical Engineering, Pusan National University

Electrical and electronics prosecution; Certified Technology Credit Appraiser
Electrical · electronicsAutomotive · autonomous drivingBatteries · BMSAI · software
Jiyoung Yoon · Patent & Trademark Attorney

Jiyoung Yoon

Associate

Patent & Trademark Attorney

B.S. Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST;
MSc Computer Science candidate, UCD

Chemistry and biotech prosecution; business process automation and AI transformation
Chemistry · biotechSoftwareComputer science
Kihyun Shin · Attorney-at-Law · Patent & Trademark Attorney

Kihyun Shin

Of Counsel

Attorney-at-Law · Patent & Trademark Attorney

Chemical & Biological Engineering, SNU · J.D., Yonsei Law School

Litigation, legal advice, M&A, licensing, investment and contracts
Blockchain · AIMedical · biotech
정밀 가공 장비가 금속 부품을 가공하는 모습
ENGINEERING IN PRACTICETechnology must be understood
before rights can be designed.Photo: ThisisEngineering · Unsplash
2020—2026 · ANONYMIZED MATTER RECORDS

Patents. Trademarks. Designs.
Depth across every practice.

Our record of more than 1,900 matters and projects extends well beyond patents to trademarks, designs, copyright, advisory work and IP valuation. We protect technology, brands and product form across markets worldwide.

1,900+matters and projects handled
WORLDWIDELESI · AIPPI · INTA · APAA network
OCEAN TOMOKorea liaison
20+valuation and technology-listing records

Across every form of IP

We connect the work a business needs at each stage: patents and utility models, trademarks, designs, copyright, contracts and advisory services, public programs and IP valuation.

Patents & utility modelsKorean and foreign filings · prosecution · trials · litigation
TrademarksFilings · renewals · opposition and trials · global portfolios
DesignsKorean and foreign filings · similarity analysis · protection
Copyright & advisoryContracts · licensing · dispute prevention
Public support programsForeign filings · IP-R&D · commercialization
IP valuationTechnology listings · secured finance · transactions
A semiconductor chip and precision electronic components
AI · SOFTWARE · ELECTRONICSPhoto: Thorium · Unsplash

Anonymized totals from internal matter-management records as of September 2026. Client names and individual matter details are not disclosed.

TRADEMARK, DESIGN & COPYRIGHT

Protecting brands, product form
and creative work

Trademark, design and copyright work does not end with a filing or registration. Drawing on experience across industries, we connect protection strategy with contracts, licensing, disputes and portfolio care in Korea and worldwide.

01 · TRADEMARK

Trademarks

Helping names and marks endure in the market

From clearance and specification strategy to Korean and international filings, oppositions, trials, MADRID, renewals and portfolio management.

  • Clearance and registrability
  • Filings, oppositions and trials
  • Madrid Protocol: designation of Korea and provisional refusal response
Discuss a trademark matter →
02 · DESIGN

Designs

Turning product form and visual distinction into rights

We connect prior-design review, drawings and product indications, Korean and overseas filings, similarity analysis, HAGUE, disputes and overseas annuities.

  • Prior designs and similarity
  • Drawings, products and filings
  • Hague System: designation of Korea and refusal response
Discuss a design matter →
03 · COPYRIGHT

Copyright

Protecting the value of creative work and software

From authorship and ownership review to registration, contracts, licensing, assignments, infringement response and dispute prevention.

  • Work and ownership review
  • Registration, contracts and licensing
  • Infringement response and prevention
Discuss a copyright matter →
03 · SERVICES

Engineers first. Attorneys always.

IP rights evolve
with the business

Each stage informs the next. Experience in transactions and exits changes how rights should be designed from day one.

Core stages Core Practice

01SECURE

Secure

Korean patent, utility model, design and trademark filing and registration, including office-action strategy.

→
02DEFEND

Defend

Infringement analysis, opinions, design-arounds, warning-letter response, trials and litigation—before a dispute hardens.

→
03EXPAND

File and expand in Korea

PCTMADRIDHAGUE

We assist overseas applicants and foreign associates with Korean patent filing and PCT national phase entry in Korea, Madrid Protocol trademark designations of South Korea, and Hague System design designations of South Korea. We coordinate Korean procedures and responses to refusals alongside international portfolio expansion.

→

Business-facing stages Business Practice

04REALISE

Realise

Valuation, sale-oriented portfolio design, technology-listing review and IP-backed finance. Registration is not the finish line.

→
05OPTIMISE

Optimise costs

We identify available public funding and recoverable costs, then refine jurisdiction, scope, local-counsel and translation choices to avoid unnecessary spend.

→
06DECIDE TOGETHER

Decide together

Meet directly with the responsible patent attorney—in person or online—to align technical priorities, commercial timing and budget.

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Overseas rights maintenance Global Portfolio Care

07PATENT ANNUITIES

Overseas patent annuities

We monitor country-specific deadlines and costs, then coordinate payment through trusted local counsel so overseas patents remain in force.

→
08TRADEMARK RENEWALS

Overseas trademark renewals

We track renewal windows and local document requirements across jurisdictions so valuable trademark registrations do not lapse.

→
09DESIGN ANNUITIES

Overseas design annuities

We monitor country-specific payment deadlines and costs, coordinating overseas design annuities through trusted local counsel.

→
04 · IP VALUE

We know valuation
from the evaluator’s side.

0%estimated share of intangible assets in S&P 500 market capitalisation at year-end 2025
Source: Ocean Tomo, 2025 Intangible Asset Market Value Study (published 12 Feb 2026) ↗

Experience beyond registration changes how rights are designed from day one. We consider proof of infringement, family structure and transaction potential from the outset.

Discuss IP valuation →
Routes from rights to value
  • 01Patent design for a potential U.S. sale
  • 02Valuation response and advisory
  • 03Technology-listing review
  • 04IP-backed finance
05 · INSIGHTS

Knowledge in practice.

Notes built
in practice

View all →

Firm news and practical guidance are updated here as they are published.

START A CONVERSATION

Patents, trademarks, designs or copyright—
start the conversation with us.

From pre-filing or registration review to contracts, disputes, international expansion and portfolio maintenance, the responsible attorney will identify the right protection and next step with you.

Start a conversation →TEL+82 2 6207 8050nwiseip@nwiseip.com