Source: Korean Intellectual Property Office
Date: December 7, 2009

The preferential examination system for trademark and service mark appears to be very practical. The system was introduced on April 1, 2009 to help applicants quickly register their rights to trademark and service mark.

After the introduction of the system, a total of 361 accelerated examination applications have been submitted over a period of six months from April to September, 2009. Among them, 147 applications were published and 37 registrations were completed. Under the accelerated examination system, applicants can obtain their rights to intellectual property faster compared with the ordinary patent application. In this sense, the number of individuals using the accelerated examination system is expected to increase continuously, said Myeong-sup Kim, the head of KIPO’s Trademark Examination Division Ⅱ.

Currently, it takes approximately 12 months to hold patented rights after patent application with ordinary application examinations. However, only six months were taken to have 37 applications registered under the preferential examination system. That shows applicants can reduce the examination period by about six months by opting for the accelerated system. 

The reason behind the short examination period is examiners first determine whether the application is subject to the preferential examination within 10 days of receiving it. If the application does not need further supporting data, the examination begins within 45 days after the first applicability decision. 

The accelerated examination system had been accepted only under the Patent Law and the Design Act. However, recent applicants requested to adopt the system in trademark and service areas. To meet such needs,  the “Proclamation on Preferential Examination of Trademark Application (Proclamation on Preferential Examination Application)” was established and took effect in April 2009.   

Only a few conditions are required to have the accelerated examination. One is when applicants are clearly using or preparing to use the trademark in certain products or the service mark. Another is when the applicant took a warning measure or applied for provisional disposition against a third party who is using the same or similar trademark or service mark with the applicant for business purposes and without a lawful reason. 

“The Enforcement Regulations of Trademark Act” says “The examination of trademark application is made by the time of application submission.” However, the accelerated examination system allows certain applicants to have an early examination. In this sense, the preferential examination users need to pay an extra fee in addition to the ordinary examination costs. 

In general, most of the accelerated examination applicants are already using or preparing to use their trademark or service mark for their product or service. Against this backdrop, the preferential examination system which enables applicants to acquire their rights to the marks in an expeditious manner is highly likely to be used by more people.