◈ Intellectual Property and Commercial Court Organization Act

paragraph 4 of Article 16

The Technical Examination Officer and the Commercial Investigation Officer are ordered by the Judge to handle the following affairs:
1. The determination regarding the technical or commercial issues of a case, data collection, analysis, and providing opinions.
2. Other matters stipulated by the law.

◈ Intellectual Property Case Adjudication Act

Article 4

The court may, whenever necessary, request a Technical Examination Officer to perform the following duties:
1. Ask questions or explain to the parties pertaining to factual and legal issues based on the  
    professional knowledge, in order to clarify the disputes in action;
2. ask questions directly to witnesses or expert witnesses;
3. state opinions on the case to the judge;
4. assist in evidence-taking in the event of preservation of evidence; and
5. assist in injunctive procedures or compulsory enforcement procedures.

paragraph 3 of Article 18

The court may order a Technical Examination Officer to execute his duties on site when preservation of evidence is ordered.

◈ Intellectual Property Case Adjudication Rules

Article 11

The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court may, wherever necessary, in trying an intellectual property case, designate a Technical Examination Officer by ruling to perform the duties set forth in Article 4 of the Act; such ruling shall be adjudicated by the judges sitting in council in the event of a case subject to judgment by council.
The name of the Technical Examination Officer designated to perform duties on the date for a court session shall be shown on the docket along with the names of the judge and the court clerk.

Article 12

If a court other than the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court handling an intellectual property case deems it necessary to designate a Technical Examination Officer for assistance, such court shall first request the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court to assign the above officer and then designate such officer by ruling.

Article 13

Upon designation to assist in a trial and other procedures, a Technical Examination Officer shall peruse the exhibits and information on file and perform his/her duties in the following manner:

1. with respect to the litigation pleadings and materials of parties, analyze and sort the arguments based on his/her expertise in order to clarify the issues, and furnish references pertaining to his specialty;
2. state his/her comments on the arrangement of the disputed issues and exhibits and on the scope, order and method of investigation of evidence to the judge for reference;
3. appear on the date for a court session and, with the permission of the court, may question a party, agent ad litem, witness or expert witness as necessary, and expound the technical terminology in the testimony of a party, agent ad litem, witness or expert witness that is not easily comprehensible;
4. before or after inspection, state the relevant guidelines to the court, and assist the judge in ascertaining the party's explanation and in the treatment and operation of the object under inspection;
5. assist with the compilation of schedules and illustration attaching to the judgment;
6. with the permission of the presiding judge, attend as an observer and state his/her technical views relevant to the case in the eliberation; the presiding judge may order the Technical Examination Officer to present the views he contemplates in writing in advance; and
7. present professional technical opinions to the court, and handle and operate objects of enforcement as necessary in a compulsory enforcement procedures.

Article 14

The name of the Technical Examination Officer participating in a trial on the date for a court session shall be specified in the transcript.

The particulars of the matter where a Technical Examination Officer expounds to or directly questions a party, witness or expert witness on the date for a court session with the permission of the court shall be entered in the transcript.

Article 15

A party may state its opinion to court on the exposition made by a Technical Examination Officer on a date for a court session.

Article 16

The court may order a Technical Examination Officer to prepare a written report on the results of his/her performance of duties and, where the case is of a complex nature, to separately prepare an interim report and a final report in writing if necessary.

Such reports compiled by a Technical Examination Officer will not be made public. However, before any special professional knowledge learnt by the court from a Technical Examination Officer is adopted as a ground for judgment, parties shall be accorded an opportunity to present their arguments regarding such knowledge.

Article 17

The court may cancel a ruling designating a Technical Examination Officer or designate another Technical Examination Officer to perform duties, if necessary.

Article 18

Statements made by a Technical Examination Officer may not be directly admitted as evidence for the purpose of finding on the facts to be established.　The parties shall still discharge their burden of proof by presenting evidence with respect to the facts to be established in the action according to the evidence procedure set forth in the applicable litigation laws, without directly adducing the statements of a Technical Examination Officer as evidence.

• Release Date:2021-07-01
• Update:2024-01-18