Secondary Battery Patent Applications Up 16%... Priority Examination Implementation Accelerates

"We are currently in discussions with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety regarding the expansion of examiners for the priority examination of secondary batteries. We expect concrete results to come out soon."

On the 24th, at the '2023 K-Battery R&D Forum' held at Maison Glad Jeju, hosted by the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology and the Korea Battery Industry Association, Jwa Seung-gwan, Head of the Organic Chemistry Examination Division at the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), said, "This is why we cannot clearly say that we will immediately introduce the priority examination system for secondary batteries."

During his lecture on the 'Priority Examination System for Patents in the Secondary Battery Industry,' Jwa stated, "Secondary batteries are the field with the highest growth rate in patent applications," adding, "While the total number of patent applications increased by an average of 2.4% annually over the past three years from 2019 to last year, patent applications in the secondary battery field grew by an average of 16.3% annually."

He explained, "If the secondary battery field, where application volume continues to increase, is included in the priority examination target, a significant portion of the total examiners will have to be allocated to priority examinations," adding, "This could lead to longer processing times for general examinations." He emphasized, "The solution to this problem is increasing manpower." As the number of applications rises, the number of patents handled per examiner at KIPO has also been increasing recently. From January to August this year, one examiner processed 184 patent examinations, nearly matching the annual average of 195 cases handled per examiner over the past four years.

Patent examinations are divided into three types: expedited examination (priority examination), general examination, and deferred examination (examination postponement). Among the applications, general examinations account for 80%, priority examinations for 18-20%, and deferred examinations less than 1%.

On the 24th, at Maison Glad Jeju, Jwa Seung-gwan, Head of the Organic Chemistry Examination Division at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, is giving a lecture on the topic of "Priority Examination System for Secondary Battery Industry Patents" at the '2023 K-Battery R&D Forum'.
[Photo by Choi Seo-yoon]

Earlier, President Yoon Seok-yeol stated at the 'National Strategy Meeting to Strengthen Secondary Battery Competitiveness' in April, "Secondary batteries are a core strategic asset for national security," and "The government will firmly support maintaining a super-gap." This officially announced the need for whole-of-government support for secondary batteries following semiconductors. KIPO Commissioner Lee In-sil also declared at a press conference marking his first anniversary in June that priority examination would be introduced in the secondary battery field during his remaining term.

In the same month, the three major domestic battery companies?LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI?submitted a proposal to KIPO emphasizing the importance of securing patents quickly to maintain industrial competitiveness and called for the introduction of a priority examination system in the battery sector.

Jwa said, "Secondary batteries could be incorporated into the priority examination system more easily than semiconductors." Article 9-2-3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Patent Act, effective November 1 last year, states, "Patent applications related to advanced technologies important for strengthening the national economy and national competitiveness, such as semiconductors (limited to patent applications for which the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office sets specific targets and application periods for priority examination and announces them)," are subject to priority examination. Jwa noted, "The key phrase is 'such as semiconductors,'" adding, "This already implies the possibility of including secondary batteries as well."

Referring to the parenthetical content, he said, "Currently, only semiconductors are announced by the Commissioner as targets, but if secondary batteries are announced in the future, they will be included in the priority examination targets." He continued, "The entire process, including recommendations, takes about a month," adding, "This is faster than the 4 to 5 months required for amending the Enforcement Decree." Since the Enforcement Decree has already been amended, once internal preparations such as manpower expansion at KIPO are completed and the Commissioner announces the targets according to the amendment, implementation can occur within a short period of one month.

Jwa mentioned that the priority examination process for secondary batteries would follow a similar path to that of semiconductors and referred to the criteria for semiconductor priority examination applications. To apply for priority examination in the semiconductor field, two main conditions must be met: one, the patent application must be included in the semiconductor-related patent classification (CPC) designated by KIPO; and two, the application must be related to shipments by companies producing or preparing to produce semiconductor-related products or devices domestically, or to results from national research and development projects related to semiconductor technology. These conditions apply to applications filed for priority examination during the one-year period from the start of the semiconductor priority examination system until the 31st of this month, with an extension to be reviewed afterward.

Jwa said, "There were operational difficulties over the past year due to the requirement to meet the CPC," adding, "In the future, the CPC requirement will likely be removed, and the priority examination target criteria will be based on a combination of patent applications related to semiconductor technology and the second condition." He added, "This will provide greater flexibility for applying companies."

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