Source: KIPO
Date: 2011. 11. 22

Commissioner LEE Soo-won of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced that a Korean to English machine translation service of international patent applications filed in Korean language under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) has been made available through WIPO’s (World Intellectual Property Organization) PATENTSCOPE™, which is a gateway to international patent applications and the latest information and documents collected from its member states.

This service aims to provide foreign users with easier access to Korean patent information in order to cope with the continued increase of international patent applications filed in Korean after the adoption of Korean as an official PCT publication language in 2007. In 2010, the number of those applications filed in Korean was 7,336, reaching 76% of the total 9,639 international patent applications filed to KIPO.

Due to its ease of use and accessibility, the above-mentioned machine translation service is expected to attract the interest and attention of global companies to Korean patent information. It should also greatly reduce the amount of time and costs Korean companies and individuals spend on translating applications to validate their rights during patent disputes with foreign companies. In addition, it will further strengthen the protection of Korean patents overseas, despite having been filed in Korean.

This service will be provided free of charge through WIPO’s PATENTSCOPE™ for one year until 2012. It will also be available for an indefinite period through KIPRIS, which is a free internet-based patent document search service for the general public managed by KIPO.

Chief Information Officer and Director General Dr. PARK Jeong-yeol of KIPO said, “This machine translation service through PATENTSCOPE™ can serve as an opportunity for Korean machine translation service providers to explore overseas markets and compete with other global companies in the same field.”

For reference, an international application filed under the PCT is subject to the result of an examination, which is conducted by an examiner of the office designated by the applicant, to be granted as a patent. In any case, such an international application shall be published by WIPO within 18 months from the date of filing in the official languages including Korean. This is part of an effort to disclose related technologies of the application to the general public and prevent their duplication.