Trade Secrets Originality Certificates Issued Electronically in English
Summary
The Ministry of Intellectual Property announced improved procedures for issuing certificates verifying original documents of trade secrets, effective April 10, 2026. Applicants may now receive certificates electronically and in standardized English format without making physical visits to designated certification agencies. Certificates became eligible for Apostille authentication in September 2025, supporting companies' use of the documents abroad.
“Previously, applicants were required to make a physical visit to a designated certification agency to obtain a certificate that verifying the original document based on its registered electronic fingerprint.”
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What changed
MOIP amended the rules governing certificates of original documents for trade secrets to allow electronic issuance and standardized English formatting. The certification service, grounded in the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, enables companies to register electronic fingerprints of trade secret documents and obtain certificates proving document originality in legal disputes.
Companies holding trade secrets may now access this verification service remotely without visiting a designated certification agency in person. The English-format certificates eligible for Apostille authentication since September 2025 expand the service's utility for international legal proceedings and cross-border disputes.
Archived snapshot
Apr 23, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
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April 10, 2026
'Originality Certificates for Trade Secrets' to be Issued Electronically and in English
| “Certificates of Original Documents for Trade Secrets” to be Issued Electronically and in English |
The Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP), led by Minister KIM Yong Sun, announced that it has improved the procedures for issuing certificates that can help verify original documents of trade secrets to enhance convenience for companies, including by allowing certificates to be issued 1) electronically and 2) in a standardized English format.
The certification service is grounded in the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act (Chapter III, Article 9-2), under which the unique digital identification value extracted from an original electronic document containing a company’s trade secret information (referred to as an "electronic fingerprint") may be registered with a designated original document certification agency. In the event of a legal dispute, the agency may issue a certificate verifying the document as the original, which can help establish the existence of the trade secret and the time at which the information was possessed.
① Previously, applicants were required to make a physical visit to a designated certification agency to obtain a certificate that verifying the original document based on its registered electronic fingerprint. MOIP, as part of its proactive administration efforts, amended the relevant rules to allow the certificates to be issued electronically, making it possible for applicants to receive them more conveniently without an in-person visit.
② Also, the certificates became eligible for Apostille in September 2025, which authenticates public documents for overseas use. To support companies’ use of the certificates abroad, MOIP provided designated certification agencies with a standardized English format for issuing the certificates.
Director General PARK Jin-hwan of the Intellectual Property Dispute Settlement Bureau stated, "We have improved the certificate issuance system so that companies can use the service more easily. Since such certificates can be used as evidentiary material in the event of a trade secret leak, we encourage more companies to make active use of them. ”
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