Patent lawsuits will be allowed in English in Korea as part of the top court’s efforts to better support the legal accessibility of foreigners, sources said Monday.

According to the Supreme Court, the authorities agreed to establish an “international justice department” under the Patent Court as early as February next year.

Under the new system, testimonies and pleas can be made in English, while documents and written evidence in English will be considered valid. The verdicts will also be available in both Korean and English after the ruling, they said.

Currently, foreign-language documents are required to be submitted in Korean after translation and all legal processes are conducted only in Korean.

This is part of the top court’s project to improve its functioning as the legal system for intellectual property rights. Once introduced, Korea will be the first East Asian country to adopt an English-speaking patient lawsuit system.

As South Korea is a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, most international patents take effect in the country. Therefore, foreign companies can file lawsuits here regardless of having or not having local branches in Korea.

The new move will likely lead to more patent lawsuits here, experts said.

“Many patent cases have been filed abroad, especially in Europe and the U.S. Sometimes this has posed challenges and inconvenience to Korean companies. The newly launched system will likely attract the cases to Korea, thereby offering better service for them,” lawyer An Hae-jin of law firm Daeji told The Korea Herald.

“But conducting the legal process in English may also cause some language burdens and unnecessary costs for the Korean companies. How the new system is established will play an important role,” she added.

Acknowledging the problems that may be faced by Korean companies, the top court is considering allowing the English lawsuits only if both the plaintiffs and defendants agree to hold the proceedings in the language, sources said.

The top court’s project task force has already applied for a budget plan of 400 million won ($340,000) for the establishment of the international justice department, they added.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)