no
KIPO conducts formality examination and substantive examination of utility model patent applications, but only needs to meet the standards of novelty and practicality, and does not require inventive step.
10 years
- Grant fee: The applicant needs to pay the granted fee within 3 months after receiving the notification of the granted decision, and pay the annual fee for the first to third years at the same time.
- Annuity: The annual fee will be paid year by year starting from the fourth year from the filing date. The amount of the annual fee depends on the number of Claim, and the annual fee can also be paid. If the annual fee is overdue, it can be paid within the 6-month late payment period after the due date, but a 200% penalty must be paid at the same time.
- via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
- Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.
KIPO conducts formality examination and substantive examination of invention patent applications. Only after the application documents meet the conditions of formality examination, KIPO will assign the patent to the application number. Publication is completed within 18 months from the filing date/priority date. The applicant/interested party shall submit a substantive examination request no later than 5 years from the filing date. Once an examination request is made, it cannot be withdrawn, and KIPO conducts examination in the order in which the examination requests are filed. Patent applications that meet the grant conditions will be granted.
no
A 12-month novelty grace period is available if the design is disclosed by the applicant or the applicant's agent.
- The average time for partial substantive examination design granted is 1-2 months.
- The average time for substantive examination of design granted is 10-12 months.
yes. It is possible to change the patent type from utility model to invention within 30 days of receiving the grant/rejection decision, and pay the corresponding fee.
no