A 12-month novelty grace period is available if the design is disclosed by the applicant or the applicant's agent.
If the following situations occur 12 months before the patent application/priority date by the inventor, applicant or assignee:
- By correspondence, or publicly at national or international exhibitions
Disclosure due to malicious disclosure by a third party
The novelty grace period can be enjoyed, and the applicant needs to submit corresponding evidence support when submitting the application.
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 Once an examination request is made, it cannot be withdrawn, and KIPO conducts examination in the order in which the examination requests are filed.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.
- Grant fee: The applicant should pay the annual fee for the first to third year within 3 months after receiving the notification of granted decision
- Annuity: Begin to pay year by year from the 4th year, overdue payment can be made within the 6-month grace period after the due date, but a penalty shall be paid, and the amount of the penalty shall not exceed twice the granted fee.
no
yes. The type of patent can be changed from invention to utility model within 30 days of receiving the grant/rejection decision, and the corresponding fee should be paid.
If the following situations occur 12 months before the patent application/priority date by the inventor, applicant or assignee:
- By correspondence, or publicly at national or international exhibitions
Disclosure due to malicious disclosure by a third party
The novelty grace period can be enjoyed, and the applicant needs to submit corresponding evidence support when submitting the application.
For the design of partial substantive examination, multiple designs can be included in one design application, but the designs must belong to the same class in the international design classification.
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.
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