Revisions to the Korean Patents Act are due to come into force on 1 January 2015. The more notable changes are summarized in the table below. With regards to PCT applications, a filing date of the PCT application is considered as an effective filing date of the Korean patent application with the Korean Intellectual Property Office. Therefore, the extension of time provision and amending of any errors in a Korean-language translation will apply to PCT applications filed on or after January 1, 2015.
| Current Law | New Law |
|---|---|
| Strict requirements for securing an effective filing date. | Relaxed requirements for securing an effective filing date. |
| Must submit a specification, claims and drawings, if any, to secure an effective filing date | Can file a thesis or publication disclosing an invention to secure an effective filing date. However, a specification, claims and drawings, if any, must be submitted within 14 months from the earliest priority date. |
| Strict requirements for filing language | Relaxed requirements for filing language |
| Only applications filed in Korean allowed. | Applications may be filed in a foreign language, after which the Korean translation must be submitted within 14 months from the earliest priority date or the filing date if there is no priority claim. |
| No extension of time provision | Extension of time provision for PCT applications |
| Korean translation of PCT application must be filed within 31 months from the earliest priority date. | Extension of time of 1 month is available upon request. Accordingly, the Korean translation of the PCT application can be filed within 32 months from the earliest priority date, with payment of the one month extension fee. |
| Strict requirements for amending Korean applications filed in a foreign language | Relaxed requirements for amending Korean applications filed in a foreign language |
| Amendments to the specification and claims of a Korean national phase application must be made within the scope of the Korean translation of the corresponding PCT application.Thus, an error in the translation of the corresponding PCT application cannot be corrected. | Applicant is allowed to correct a translation error found in the Korean translation of a PCT application entering national phase or in a Korean patent application translated from an application filed in a foreign language. |