Daegu·Gyeongbuk and Other ‘Special Disaster Areas’, Reduction of Patent Fees for Individuals and Corporations

Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced on the 19th that it will provide a one-year patent fee reduction benefit to individuals and corporations residing in special disaster areas such as Daegu and Gyeongbuk.

The benefit primarily involves a 30% reduction in patent application fees, including application fees, examination request fees, registration fees, and annual registration fees related to patents, utility models, and designs. Additionally, small and medium-sized enterprises filing PCT international applications will receive a 75% reduction in the international search fee (Korean version).

This measure comes in response to the trend where, unlike the overall increase in domestic patent applications in the first quarter of this year, the number of patent applications in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions has been decreasing.

Applicants in the special disaster areas who wish to receive the fee reduction must indicate the reason for the reduction (applicant in a special disaster area, etc.) on the application form and submit documents proving their eligibility.

Park Won-joo, Commissioner of KIPO, stated, “We are implementing patent fee reductions to support patent creation and economic revitalization for applicants in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions. KIPO will continue to develop support measures to ensure that intellectual property creation and protection activities are not affected by COVID-19.”

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