Korea-US Patent Offices Establish 'Hotline' for International Cooperation on COVID-19 Response

Park Won-joo, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (right), is holding a video conference with Andrei Iancu, Commissioner of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, at 9 a.m. on the 1st at the Government Complex Daejeon. Photo by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A hotline (a direct emergency phone line) has been established between the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The hotline was set up for the two patent offices to share information and coordinate responses regarding the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

On the 1st, KIPO announced that Commissioner Park Won-joo and USPTO Director Andrei Iancu held a video conference via the hotline at the Government Complex Daejeon.

During the video conference, the heads of the two patent offices shared the status of examiners working from home since the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures each country has taken to minimize inconvenience for domestic and foreign applicants. They agreed to post this information on their respective patent office websites so that applicants can access relevant updates.

Commissioner Park introduced to Director Iancu KIPO’s efforts to minimize work disruptions through expanded telecommuting and staggered working hours, and explained that the deadline for submitting written opinions and other designated periods have been uniformly extended to the 30th of this month for all applicants regardless of nationality.

He also conveyed that KIPO is implementing a temporary relief measure allowing applications that have passed deadlines due to COVID-19 to be reinstated without requiring separate proof such as hospital admission records.

In response, Director Iancu defined the COVID-19 situation as an Extraordinary situation, explained that all USPTO staff are working from home, and stated that petition fees for restoring applications that lost their status due to missed deadlines will be waived. He also mentioned that deadlines for submitting written opinions and paying fees will be extended to support applicants.

Based on this video conference, the two patent office heads also agreed to jointly analyze and disclose patent information related to COVID-19 treatment, diagnosis, and prevention, and to discuss cooperation measures through working-level consultations to overcome difficulties caused by COVID-19.

Furthermore, the two patent office heads agreed to maintain the hotline and continue proactive consultations on necessary measures regarding the COVID-19 situation going forward.

Starting with this video conference, KIPO plans to continue holding video meetings with major patent offices such as those in China and Europe to jointly respond and minimize inconvenience for Korean citizens and businesses during the COVID-19 emergency.

Commissioner Park Won-joo said, “This meeting is significant as it was the first video conference between the heads of the Korean and U.S. patent offices, demonstrating that effective international cooperation can be achieved even during the COVID-19 emergency through untact (contactless) methods. KIPO will continue to contribute to solving social problems through prompt international cooperation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.