Patent & Trademark Infringement Damages

Patent & Trademark Infringement Damages helps estimate Korea-related consumer, digital, platform, product, compensation, mediation, and civil dispute assumptions in English.

Legal scenario inputs

Enter Korea-related court, traffic, debt, family, civil, medical-dispute, criminal, or real-estate dispute assumptions. Results are simplified planning estimates.

Civil claim recognized amount

₩4,000,000

Offset or paid amount

₩1,000,000

Net planning amount

₩3,000,000

Monthly planning amount

₩250,000

₩6,000,000 unrecovered

Patent infringement damages follow Patent Act Art. 128; trademark infringement follows Trademark Act Arts. 109-112. Korea raised the willful-infringement enhanced-damages cap from 3x to 5x (in force Aug 21, 2024). Trademark statutory damages reach up to KRW 100M (KRW 300M if willful); patents have no statutory-damages regime. Korea-based 2026 estimate, not legal advice.

Related calculators

What is the patent & trademark infringement damages calculator?

This calculator estimates the damages a rights holder can claim after a registered patent or registered trademark is infringed in South Korea. It applies the current Patent Act Article 128 and Trademark Act Articles 109 to 112 (both in force from November 11, 2025). It computes the four main statutory methods side by side — lost-sales quantity, infringer’s profit, reasonable royalty, and court-assessed reasonable amount — and it also models the 5x enhanced (punitive) damages for willful infringement and the trademark-only statutory damages.

The hardest part of any IP lawsuit is proving the amount of loss. Because a rights holder rarely has direct proof of its own damage, Korean law lets the court presume the loss from the number of units the infringer sold, the profit the infringer earned, or the royalty that would normally be paid. This tool runs each method automatically so you can see which one is largest and easiest to prove.

Korea-based calculator

This tool is based on Korean Patent Act and Trademark Act rules (2026 basis). It is intended for people estimating damages for a patent or trademark dispute in Korea. It is a simplified estimate, not legal advice, and it does not replace review by a Korean patent attorney (변리사) or lawyer, court decisions, or expert appraisal of the specific case.

Who this is useful for

  • Patent holders whose technology is used by a competitor without a license
  • Trademark owners hit by counterfeits (knock-offs) that damage brand value
  • Sellers whose marks are copied on open marketplaces
  • Attorneys comparing whether infringer-profit or reasonable-royalty is more favorable
  • Corporate legal teams checking the feasibility of 5x enhanced damages for willful acts

Four calculation methods + statutory damages

1. Lost-sales quantity (Patent Act §128(2) / Trademark Act §110(1))

The infringer’s sold quantity — up to the amount the holder could itself have produced — is multiplied by the holder’s per-unit profit. Any excess beyond the holder’s capacity is valued as a reasonable royalty (a 2020 amendment made this excess claimable). This method fits a holder that actually manufactures and sells the product with a clear per-unit margin.

2. Infringer’s profit presumption (Patent Act §128(4) / Trademark Act §110(3))

The profit the infringer gained is presumed to be the holder’s loss: infringing revenue x operating margin. When the right covers only part of a product (for example, a component patent), a contribution rate scales the amount down. This is the method used most often in practice when the infringer’s sales figures can be obtained.

3. Reasonable royalty / license fee (Patent Act §128(5) / Trademark Act §110(4))

A reasonable royalty rate for practicing the patent (or using the mark) is applied to the infringing revenue. Even when other methods are hard to prove, this amount is a guaranteed floor. It suits a holder that only licenses and does not manufacture.

4. Court-assessed reasonable amount (Patent Act §128(7) / Trademark Act §110(6))

When loss clearly occurred but the exact figure is extremely difficult to prove, the court may fix a reasonable amount from the whole record and evidence. This calculator shows the median of the applicable methods above as a reference for this discretionary figure.

5. Statutory damages — trademark only (Trademark Act §111)

For trademark infringement, the holder may claim a reasonable amount within KRW 100 million (or KRW 300 million for willful infringement) without proving actual loss. This is valuable for small cases or online counterfeits where sales cannot be traced. Note that the Patent Act has no statutory-damages regime, so patent claims must use the actual-loss methods above.

Up to 5x enhanced (punitive) damages for willful infringement

The cap on IP enhanced damages was raised from 3x to 5x by a 2024 amendment (in force August 21, 2024). Under Patent Act §128(8) and Trademark Act §110(7), if infringement is found to be willful, the court may award up to five times the amount recognized as actual loss.

Eight factors the court weighs when setting the multiplier

  • Whether the infringer held a dominant position
  • Degree of intent / awareness of the risk of harm
  • Scale of harm suffered by the holder
  • Economic benefit the infringer gained
  • Duration and frequency of the infringement
  • Any criminal fine imposed for the infringement
  • The infringer’s financial condition
  • The infringer’s efforts to remedy the harm

For trademarks, Trademark Act §112 presumes intent when the mark carries a registration notice (® or “Registered No. ...”), because the infringer is presumed to have known of the registration. Keeping a proper registration notice therefore makes willfulness easier to prove. In practice, however, courts rarely grant the full 5x and usually settle around 2x to 3x.

Limitation period and litigation cost

A damages claim must be brought within three years of learning of both the loss and the infringer, and within ten years of the infringing act (Civil Act §766). For ongoing infringement the period runs separately for each act, so older portions may be time-barred. Litigation cost consists of the court stamp fee (Stamp Act §2), service fee, attorney fees, and appraisal fees; patent cases in particular can incur substantial technical-appraisal costs. Because a winning party can shift much of the stamp and service fees to the losing side, the net recovery can be higher than shown.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Both my patent and trademark were infringed. How do I calculate?

A. Each right uses different methods and statutes, so calculate the patent and the trademark separately and add the results. Switch the right type at the top and run it twice.

Q. Can I really get 5x?

A. Five times is only the statutory cap. The court sets the multiplier from the eight factors, and in practice awards usually land around 2x to 3x.

Q. Statutory damages or actual-loss damages?

A. For trademarks, use actual loss when the infringer’s sales/profit are provable; use statutory damages when they are hard to obtain. You may switch an actual-loss claim to a statutory claim before oral argument closes.

Q. Can I use this result directly in court?

A. This is a reference tool for estimating a range. The actual amount depends on the manner of infringement, evidence, and expert appraisal, so confirm the claim figure with a Korean patent attorney or lawyer.