What is the Korean Patent Prioritized Examination System?
In Korea, patents are examined in order of priority. However, applying this principle to all applications without exception may not adequately protect the public interest or the rights of applicants.
Therefore, the Korean Patent Act and the Utility Model Act provide for a priority examination system that allows applications that meet certain requirements to be examined before other applications, regardless of their priority.
What are the requirements for applying for Korean patent prioritization and who is eligible?
Application Requirements General:
1. Applicant for Prioritization
Anyone can apply for prioritized examination, including the applicant. However, only the national or local government can apply for priority examination for applications related to the duties of the national or local government.
2. The application must have a claim for examination
An application that is eligible for priority examination must have an examination claim, and an application for priority examination may be filed simultaneously with an examination claim. Therefore, it is possible to file both an examination claim and a priority examination claim at the same time.
3. The invention described in the claims must be eligible for priority examination
The invention claimed for prioritization must be recited in the claims; if the invention is only recited in the detailed description and not in the claims, it is not eligible for prioritization.
If there are multiple claims in the application and one of the claims is found to be eligible for priority examination, the entire application is eligible for priority examination.
Priority Examination:
1.An application in which it is recognized that a third party is practicing the filed invention as a business after publication of the application.
2. an application that requires urgent processing due to any of the following, provided that the applicant has conducted a prior art search on the filed invention and submitted the results to the KIPO.
3. a patent application for which the Korean Intellectual Property Office has agreed to prioritize examination with a foreign patent office and which meets the application requirements set forth in Table 2 and falls under any of the following headings.
FAQ about Korean Patents
If i have a patent in Korea, will my business succeed?
Is BM patent examination different in Korea?
What is the difference between a patent and a utility model in Korea?
What is the Korean Patent Prioritized Examination System?
[Frequently Asked Questions in Pre-Filing Stage for Korean Patents]
Consulting for Korean Patent Application
The Process of Drafting Patent Application Documents
[Frequently Asked Questions during the Korean Patent Examination and Registration Process]
Korean Patent Examination Request Process
Early publication and application publication steps
Steps to apply for prioritization examination in South Korea
What should I do after receiving the Office Action of the Reason for Refusal?
What is a request for re-examination?
What should I do if I receive a patent rejection decision?
Payment of Patent Fees and Registration of Korean Patents
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