After a patent application is filed with the Korea Intellectual Property Office(KIPO),
a patent right is granted through various steps. The Korean Patent system is characterized by

(¥¡) First-to-File Rule;
(¥¢) Publication of Unexamined Application;
(¥£) Request for Examination; and
(¥¤) Post-grant Opposition System

Normal Application

1)Name(s), Address(es) and Nationality of applicant(s);
2) Name(s), Address(es) and Nationality of inventor(s);
3) Specification, Abstract, Claim(s) and Drawings(if any);
4) Priority Documents(if any);
5) Information as to whether or not request for examination should be made when filing; and
6) Power of Attorney simply signed by the applicant

Priority Claim(Translation of the Priority Documents)

If convention priority is claimed, basic filing particulars of priority application (including the application number, the filing date, and the country priority application was filed) on which a claim of priority is based, must be specified in a Korean application. Priority documents should be filed within the sixteen(16) months from the eariest filing date. Extension is NOT allowed. If the priority document is not submitted within that the above period of time, the claim of priority will be considered not to have been claimed.
Translation into Korean of the priority document is not required to file at the time of filing. Korean translation of the priority documents however shall be filed when the Examiner, if needed, request the applicant to file it.

Power of Attorney

Though original Power of Attorney must be filed when filing, in URGENT case faxed copy thereof will be available provided original Power of Attorney should be filed later, within about a month from the filing date.

Use of General Power of Attorney form

Use of a General Power of Attorney is recommended because it can be used for future cases of the same applicant, thus saving the client time and expenses.A General Power of Attorney form can cover applications for patents, utility models, trademarks and designs and subsequent proceedings. However, filing of oppositions and procedures in inter partes trial cases requires a separate Power of Attorney.

- PCT National Phase Entry Application

1) PCT Request and/or Demand;
2) PCT Application No. and/or Publication No.;
3) Information as to whether or not request for examination should be made when filing;
4) Amendments made under PCT Act.19 and PCT Act. 34 (if any); and
5) Power of Attorney simply signed by the applicant.

Time limits applicable for entry into the Korean national phase

o 31 months from the priority date is available for all PCT international patent applications under PCT Article 22(1) and PCT Article 39(1)(a), irrespective of whether the international patent application will go through international preliminary examination or not.

Translation of the Priority Documents

Translation into Korean of the priority document is not required to file at the time of filing. Korean translation of the priority documents however shall be filed when the Examiner, if needed, request the applicant to file it.

When a patent application is submitted to KIPO, it is checked to ensure
that all requirements necessary to accord the application a filing date have been satisfied.
Once the application has been satisfied with the requirements, KIPO assigns an application
number and examines as to whether or not other formality requirements under the Patent
Act have been met.
If KIPO discovers that a document or information is missing, such as power of attorney
or the name of the representative of the juristic person, it will issue a notice
of amendment requesting the applicant to supplement the missing data, within the specified
time limit. The applicant may request an extension of the designated time period.
If the applicant does not comply with such a request until the time limit,
the patent application will be considered not to have been filed.

Applications that have not yet been published will be automatically laid-open in the official
gazette called "Patent Laid-open Gazette" after 18 months from the filing date in the Republic
of Korea or, if the right of priority is claimed from an earlier foreign filing, from the priority date.

Laid-open publication upon the request of the applicant
The laid-open publication may be made,
upon the request of the applicant, prior to the eighteen(18) month period. This will provide an
earlier protection to a patent application which is being infringed.

Furnishing Examiner with Information and Evidence related to Patentability
Once a patent application
has been laid-open, any documents relating to the application are made available for public
inspection. Furthermore, any person may submit to the Commissioner of KIPO information
relevant to the patentability of the invention concerned together with any supporting vidence.

Provisional Protection
The Patent Act offers a special legal effect upon a laid-open patent application:
under Article 65(1), if the applicant sends a warning letter to an alleged infringer
after his application has been laid-open, any subsequent computation of a reasonable
amount of compensation will be reckoned from the date when the infringer receives the
warning letter.

(1) Request for Examination
A patent application will be taken up for examination only if a request for examination is made either by the applicant or by any interested party within 5 years from the filing date of the application. If no request for examination is made within this five-year period, the patent application is deemed to have been withdrawn. Once a request for examination has been duly filed, it cannot be withdrawn. A patent application is taken up for examination in the order of filing the request for examination therefore.

(3) Expedited Examination
According to Article 61 of the Patent Act, the Commissioner of KIPO may have a particular category of patent application examined ahead of other patent applications. KIPO's Regulation Concerning the Procedure for Handling Requests for Expedited Examination provides that applications eligible for such expedited examination are limited to the following categories:

If a examiner finds a ground for rejection of a patent application, a notice of preliminary rejection will be issued; and the applicant will be given an opportunity to submit a response to the preliminary rejection within the time limit designated by the examiner. Such time limit is extendable to the request for an extension by the applicant. In responding to the preliminary rejection, the applicant may file an argument with or without an amendment to the specification and/or claims. If the examiner determines that the argument is without merit and the ground for rejection has not been overcome, he will issue a notice of final rejection of the patent application.

When a patent applicant receives a notice of decision to grant a patent he should pay, as a registration fee, the first 3 years' annuities in a lump sum within 3 months from the date of receipt of such notice. In case he fails to pay the registration fee within the three-month period the registration can still be made by paying twice the usual fee within 6 months after the expiration of the three-month period. Therefore, if the registration fee is not paid within 9 months from the date of receipt of a notice of decision to grant a patent, the patent application will be deemed to have been abandoned.

(1) Issuance of Letters PatentWhen a patent right is registered with payment of the patent fee, a Certificate of Patent Registration shall be issued.

(2) Term of patent rightFrom the date of registration to twenty (20) years from the date of filing the patent application (or international application)

(3) License (Recordation of patent license)An exclusive license comes into existence by an establishment contract and registration of the exclusive license. When a patent right is jointly owned, the consent of all the co-owners is required in granting an exclusive license. An exclusive licensee shall have the exclusive right to work the patented invention commercially or industrially to the extent provided by the terms of the agreement. In the license agreement, the term (for example: for 10 years), the area (for example: in Korea) and content (for example: for production and sales) can be restricted as desired. A nonexclusive licensee has no obligation to register the license. But non-exclusive licenses cannot be enforced against any third party unless they are recorded in the patent register.

Documents required for recordation of patent license
(a) Exclusive or Non-exclusive license contract;
(b) Certificate of corporate nationality of the patentee (or certificate of individual nationality);
(c) Powers of attorney of the patentee and the licensee; and
(d) Certificate of corporate nationality of the licensee (or certificate of individual nationality)
(4) Recordation of assignment
Assignment of either a pending application or a registered right must be recorded to enforce the legal rights of its owner(s). To record an assignment, the following documents must be filed:
1) Deed of Assignment by the assignor only; and
2) Power of Attorney from both the assignor and the assignee.

Where the examiners finds no grounds for refusal of a patent application, KIPO publishes the patent registration after the patent applicant pays the registration fee. Once a patent has been published in the Patent Registration Gazette, any person may file an opposition against the registration of the patent within 3 months from the publication date.

The applicant may lodge an appeal against the examiner's final rejection within 31 days from the date of receipt of the notice of final rejection. Any party which doubts the validity of a right may request a trial for invalidation of patent. Such appeal and trial procedure are conducted in the Industrial Property Tribunal which was established by merging the former Trial Board and Appeal Board as of March 1, 1998 in KIPO. The Industrial Property Tribunal's decision may be appealed to the Patent Court which was also established as an appellate level court and has been operating from March 1, 1998. An appeal against the Patent Court's decision may be reviewed by the Supreme Court.