Only Genuine Inventors Allowed – Amendment to the Patent Act Enforcement Rules
Partial Amendments to the Patent Act and Utility Model Act Enforcement Rules Effective November 1
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO Commissioner Kim Wan-ki) announced that partial amendments to the Patent Act and Utility Model Act Enforcement Rules* will take effect on November 1.
Patent Act Enforcement Rules Amendment [Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy Decree No. 579 amended October 31 2024]
Utility Model Act Enforcement Rules Amendment [Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy Decree No. 580 amended October 31 2024]
This amendment includes the following key provisions: ▲ improvements to the inventor correction system to ensure only genuine inventors are listed ▲ mandatory inclusion of detailed inventor identification information (nationality country of residence) and ▲ delegation of priority examination rules for divisional applications to administrative regulations.
Improvement to the Inventor Correction System (Restrictions on Correction Timing Required Documentation)
To prevent misuse such as adding non-inventors after the examination process is complete the inventor correction system has been improved. The timing for correcting inventor information has been restricted and documents previously required only after patent registration are now to be submitted during the examination process.
Thus patent applicants are restricted from adding inventors between the patent decision and registration; inventor correction is allowed only when maintaining the identity of the inventor such as name changes minor typos or address changes. (Correction is permitted from the time of application to the patent decision and again after registration.)
When seeking to correct inventor information during the examiner’s review applicants must submit ① a statement detailing the reason for correction and ② a confirmation document signed or sealed by the applicant and the affected inventor(s)*.
Example: (Before correction) Inventors: Jang Young-sil Hong Dae-yong → (After correction) Inventors: Jang Young-sil Ji Seok-young
☞ [Confirmation Document] Signatures/seals from the applicant Hong Dae-yong and Ji Seok-young are required.
This amendment applies to all inventor correction documents submitted after November 1.
Mandatory Entry of Inventor Identification Information (Nationality Country of Residence) in Patent Applications
In line with the “Act on the Promotion of Management and Utilization of Industrial Property Information” which took effect on August 7 this year applicants are now required to include the “nationality” and “country of residence (as listed in the address field)” of the inventor in patent applications. Both nationality and country of residence should be entered using two-letter country codes in English. However no proof documents for nationality verification such as a nationality certificate are required. This rule applies to documents submitted after November 1.
Delegation of Priority Examination Rules for Divisional Applications to Administrative Regulations
To enable flexible adaptation to evolving examination conditions priority examination rules for divisional applications* have been delegated to administrative regulations (the Rules on Patent and Utility Model Examination). This change also applies to applications already assigned priority as of November 1.
Dividing an application into separate filings when it contains multiple inventions.
KIPO is pursuing an administrative rule change effective January 1 2025 to base the examination order for divisional applications on the order of examination requests for the divisional applications rather than the original application’s examination request order.
Improvements to Address Operational Deficiencies in Existing Systems
As part of proactive administration KIPO has made improvements to existing procedures such as reducing the required copies of amendment documents from three to one during the post-international application process under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) addressing minor deficiencies in current regulations.
Shin Sang-gon Director of the Patent Examination Policy Bureau at KIPO stated “The foundation of patent law as specified in Article 22 of the Constitution is the protection of inventors’ rights.” He added “We expect that this amendment will help establish clear ownership by ensuring genuine inventors are listed at the time of patent application.”
Further details on this partial amendment can be found on the KIPO website (www.kipo.go.kr) or the National Law Information Center (www.law.go.kr).
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