Korea has updated its patent law. The main aim is to simplify the options for attacking Patents and to shorten the patent granting procedure. The changes came into force at the end of June 2016.

The first fundamental innovation is the Cancellation Proceedings.

Previously, anyone could apply to the Patent Office for a declaration of nullity within 3 months of the patent being published. However, as this Nullity Proceedings procedure was very complicated, it was rarely used.

In the revised law, Nullity Proceedings are only accessible to those who can prove a legal interest. In return, a new patent cancellation procedure is introduced. Again, anyone can file a request for cancellation. The deadline is 6 months from publication of the patent. The application must be based on citations that prevent patentability. This means that only lack of novelty and lack of inventive step can be invoked. If the patent office declares the patent null and void, the patent holder can appeal to the patent court. If, on the other hand, the Patent Office rejects the request for cancellation, this decision cannot be challenged by the plaintiff for cancellation. The right of appeal is therefore unilaterally interpreted in favor of the patent proprietor.

A second change concerns the time limit for the request for examination. Previously, the time limit expired five years after Filing the Patent Application. Now, the time limit for the request for examination is three years. However, it is possible to file a request for deferred examination. In this case, the Patents will only be examined after five years. By shortening the examination request period, it is hoped that the groups of people affected by the patent will be able to clarify the patentability of the invention earlier.

The third striking change to the Patents Act relates to the procedure for transferring a patent from the non-authorized party to the actual authorized party. Previously, the actual entitled party first had to file a request to cancel the non-entitled party’s patent. Only then could he apply for a patent for the disputed invention himself. Under the new law, the actual beneficiary can file an action for assignment with the court. If the court approves the Lawsuit, the patent can be Transfers of Ownership.

Note: It is pleasing to see that the countries are making their patent laws as user-friendly as possible. However, it is noticeable that the different countries have different ideas about what is “user-friendly”. This prevents the laws from being uniform.