International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) official statement 11/17/2025
FACTS, NOT SLOGANS – SOME TRUTHS ABOUT THE ITF AND THE VIENNA JUDGMENT
In the last few hours, some posts have been circulating which, under the pretext of “facts”, present a distorted version of the history and the legal reality of the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF).
It is necessary to clarify, calmly but firmly, a few key points.
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1. Who owns the ITF Encyclopedia and copyright
The Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do and the entire technical-doctrinal system of ITF Taekwon-Do are not “everyone’s” property in a legal sense.
They are works protected by copyright and form part of the assets of the International Taekwon-Do Federation whose legal seat is in Vienna.
This does not mean “privatizing” Taekwon-Do as a martial art. It simply means that the copyright and the exploitation rights over those works (Encyclopedia, logos, official material, etc.) belong to a very specific legal entity: the ITF based in Vienna. This is written in contracts, registrations and – above all – has been recognized by the courts.
Anyone who prints books, manuals, posters or videos on ITF patterns using material from the Encyclopedia without authorization is not “defending General Choi’s legacy”: they are infringing the copyright of ITF Vienna. This is a fact, not an opinion.
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2. The judgment of the Higher Regional Court of Vienna is not “a local story”
It is repeatedly claimed that the 2011 judgment of the Higher Regional Court of Vienna is only an “internal” matter of one country and has no international relevance.
This is a very convenient way to ignore what one does not like.
The reality is that:
• when the ITF, before General Choi’s death, established its legal seat in Vienna, it chose to submit itself to Austrian law;
• before the Vienna court, the question was precisely who was the true continuation of the ITF and who could legitimately use its name, acronym and logos;
• the Court ascertained the legal and historical continuity of the ITF based in Vienna, declaring that this is the legitimate Federation.
Saying that it is “just a local judgment” means pretending not to understand how the law works: when an international entity fixes its seat in a given country, the courts of that State are the natural competent judge.
The decision binds the parties worldwide, because it concerns the ownership of the ITF name and symbols. There is no other court that has ever said the opposite.
From that point on, all trademark registrations and official decisions (national offices, EUIPO, WIPO, etc.) have followed the same line: ITF continuity runs through Vienna. Everything else is made up of clones, autonomous offshoots or organizations which have proclaimed themselves “successors”.
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3. Taekwon-Do as cultural heritage ≠ ITF trademarks and symbols
Another deliberate confusion is the following idea:
“Taekwon-Do belongs to humanity, therefore nobody can claim trademarks or logos.”
This is a rhetorical trick.
• Yes, Taekwon-Do as a martial art is an intangible cultural heritage that transcends borders and governments.
• No, the name “International Taekwon-Do Federation”, the ITF logo, badges, acronyms and the Encyclopedia are not “everyone’s property”. They are intellectual-property rights of the Federation that holds legal continuity: the one based in Vienna.
Nobody is “selling Taekwon-Do”. We are simply stating that if you use the ITF name, logo and contents to run courses, gradings, merchandising or events, you are exploiting someone else’s trademark.
Those who do so without authorization are not romantic defenders of values: they are people who exploit a sign that does not belong to them, gaining economic and image advantages.
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4. The (real) role of the Choi family and the myth of a “dynastic inheritance”
Another point that is systematically manipulated concerns General Choi’s family.
No one disputes the emotional and historical bond. But from a legal point of view:
• General Choi’s son was not removed “by chance”: he was removed from the ITF while his father was still alive, for conduct that did not reflect the principles of Taekwon-Do (a historical fact known to those who were there);
• in the final phase of his life, General Choi pointed to another leadership as the continuer of the ITF, not his son;
• corporate decisions, statutes, relocation of the headquarters and trademark registrations followed that line, not any alleged “blood inheritance”.
Taekwon-Do is not a hereditary monarchy.
A surname does not automatically give the right to take control of a legal entity, its assets and its trademarks. This is determined by law, not by nostalgia.
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5. Who is really stealing and who is defending
Some try to portray ITF Vienna as the party that “imposes through the law” and “threatens” others. The truth is the opposite:
• it is not ITF Vienna that opened dozens of parallel federations using the name “International Taekwon-Do Federation”;
• it is not ITF Vienna that prints logos, doboks, patches and manuals copying the originals and selling them worldwide;
• it is not ITF Vienna that uses the Encyclopedia without rights, altering it at will.
Those doing all this are precisely the ones who now cry out against “national judgments” and “trademarks”, because they know very well that if the law is fully applied, their economic house of cards collapses.
Trademarks, patents and copyright are not whims: they are protection tools designed precisely to prevent someone from appropriating the work of others, reselling it and building a fake legitimacy on the shoulders of those who truly created it.
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6. Political narratives and the use of an “enemy”
When regimes, ideologies, nuclear weapons and human-rights violations are brought into a discussion about trademarks and court decisions on sports logos, it becomes clear that there are no serious legal arguments left.
Courts, trademark offices and decisions by WIPO, EUIPO and national IP offices do not conduct foreign policy: they apply intellectual-property law.
Trying to turn a trademark dispute into a crusade against a people or a State is only a way to inflame emotions and hide the real issues: who registered first, who has continuity, who owns the rights.
It is pure propaganda, and it does not change the outcome of the legal decisions by a single comma.
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7. The EUIPO decision and the other rulings on ITF trademarks
The most recent decisions concerning the “International Taekwon-Do Federation” trademark confirm something very simple:
• the sign “International Taekwon-Do Federation / ITF” was already used and protected by the legitimate Federation and its right-holders;
• those who tried to register it “afterwards”, in conflict with that prior use, have been stopped;
• those who today continue to use it without authorization, especially in countries where earlier registrations exist, are breaking the law (and in many cases were already doing so before).
These are not “inventions”: they are written, signed and published decisions.
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8. Where we are heading
The truth hurts because, for years, someone has told a different story, profiting from ambiguity and confusion surrounding the ITF name, logo and Encyclopedia.
Now that the trademarks are being seriously defended, that abusive social-media pages are being removed and that legal actions are being started in many countries, suddenly we hear words like “injustice”, “monopolies”, “regimes”.
What will happen is simply this:
• action will continue in every country and before every competent authority;
• the ITF trademark, name, logos and the Encyclopedia copyright will be defended;
• civil and economic liability will be sought from those who have unlawfully exploited these rights, misleading practitioners and students.
This is not revenge. It is the normal application of the law, after years in which too many believed that Taekwon-Do was a no-man’s land from which anyone could take freely.
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Those who truly wish to honor General Choi and ITF history are not afraid of court decisions, trademark registries and contracts: they respect them.
Those who fear them usually know that they have built their own credibility on something that never belonged to them.