Source: KIPO
Date: June 7, 2012

Acquisition of international patents between Korea and Japan to be shortened by more than a year

- Korea and Japan agree to execute an International Patent Prosecution Highway (PCT-PPH) -

Commissioner Ho-won Kim of the Korean Intellectual Property Office and Commissioner Yoshiyuki Iwai of the Japan Patent Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the execution of a pilot PCT-PPH between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan. According to the agreement, the ROK-Japan PCT-PPH is to be simultaneously executed in both countries starting from July 1.

 * Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH): Under the PPH, applications are given preferential examination in the Office of Second Filing (OSF) based on the positive examination results from the Office of First Filing (OFF). Korea has implemented the PPH program with a total of ten countries including the United States, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Finland, Russia, Spain and Denmark; and plans to expand to Mexico on July 1, 2012.

 * Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): To alleviate the burden of submitting separate patent applications in individual countries, applications under the PCT are treated as if having been applied for in the countries involved.

 * International Patent Prosecution Highway (PCT-PPH): Regarding the PCT-PPH, an application under the PCT is given preferential examination if it has been decided as a possible patent at the international level (currently executed with the United States and China).

For applicants using the PCT-PPH, the first action examination period in ROK and Japan is expected to be shortened by more than a year.

 * Shortened first action examination period of PCT-PPH applications (2011) : 
26.3→1.9 months (applications submitted to the Japan Patent Office) 
16.8→2.2 months (applications submitted to KIPO)

Commissioner Kim said, “The ROK-Japan PCT-PPH will complete Korea’s execution of the PCT-PPH system with the three countries holding the greatest number of foreign applications by Korean companies (the United States, China, and Japan), about 80 percent of the total foreign applications by Koreans.” He continued, “KIPO will continue to expand cooperation for PPHs and PCT-PPHs with many more countries to support Korean companies and applicants in the speedy acquisition of patents abroad.”

 * Top three countries with multiple foreign applications by Korean companies (2010): United States (about 26,000 applications), China (about 7,000), Japan (about 5,000) → about 80 percent of total foreign applications by Korean companies (about 46,000)