South Korean Court Rules Income from Patents Not Registered in Korea are Not Considered Korea Source Income Under Tax Treaty with the U.S.

On 27 November 2014, the South Korean Supreme Court ruled that under the South Korean-U.S. tax treaty, income from patents used in connection with manufacturing or sales activities in Korea are not considered domestic source income if such patents are not registered in Korea. The ruling comes despite the Korean Corporate Income Tax Law, which was amended in 2008 to include that income from the use of patents domestically in Korea is considered domestic source even if such patents are only reg…