Insights

A Korean patent right starts on the date of registration of the grant of the patent and ends on the day that is 20 years after the filing date of the patent application (Patent Act (특허법), Art. 88(1)).

The registration fee for a Korean patent is due within 3 months from the date on which the certified copy of the decision to grant is received. The patent fees for the first three years are paid at once.

In Korea, a divisional application (분할출원) cannot be filed merely because the original application (parent application) is pending. It can be filed only within the three periods set by Article 52(1) of the Patent Act (특허법).

Korean patent law sets no numerical upper limit on the number of claims. Article 5(2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Patent Act (특허법 시행령) requires only “a reasonable number”.

The Korean Patent Act (특허법) divides inventions into product inventions, method inventions and inventions of a process for manufacturing a product (Patent Act, Art. 2, subparagraph 3). A claim whose category is unclear is treated as a violation of the clarity requirement.

Yes. Korea allows multiple dependent claims. A claim that refers to two or more claims must state the numbers of those claims in the alternative (Enforcement Decree of the Patent Act (특허법 시행령), Art. 5(5)).

To contest a decision of rejection (특허거절결정; decision to reject a patent application), file an appeal with the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (특허심판원, IPTAB) within 3 months from the date on which the certified copy of the decision is served (Patent Act, Art. 132-17).

Before a notice of grounds for rejection is received, the claims of a Korean patent application can be amended until a certified copy of the decision to grant is served.

Korean patent examination has two types of office action: the notice of non-final rejection (최초거절이유통지) and the notice of final rejection (최후거절이유통지).

The deadline for responding to a Korean patent office action is the period for submission of a written argument written in the notice. The examiner sets that period within four months.