Intellectual Property Office to Pursue Accession to International Patent Safeguard 'Patent Law Treaty'

The Intellectual Property Office is moving to join the Patent Law Treaty (PLT), a type of international patent safeguard. The main objectives behind joining the PLT are to strengthen overseas protection of national strategic technologies and to eliminate regulations that hinder domestic companies from obtaining patents. The PLT, a customer-friendly treaty among contracting states, came into effect in 2005 and currently has 43 member countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. South Korea aims to join by 2029.

Provided by the Intellectual Property Office

According to the Intellectual Property Office on December 1, the PLT serves as an international patent safeguard by standardizing and simplifying intellectual property application procedures among contracting states and providing various remedies. South Korea’s intention to join the PLT was included in the “Korea-U.S. Summit Joint Fact Sheet” released last month.

Once South Korea becomes a member of the PLT, the application procedures for domestic companies in contracting states will be significantly streamlined. For example, after joining the PLT, domestic companies will be able to quickly secure their filing date by meeting just three requirements: an indication that a patent application is being filed, identification of the applicant, and a description of the technical content.

In addition, it will become possible to file patent applications in any language (with a Korean translation to be submitted later), not just Korean or English. The process for transferring patent rights will also be simplified, as handwritten signatures will suffice without the need for notarized certificates, effectively easing notarization and certification procedures.

Risks for domestic small and medium-sized venture companies in the semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI), and biotechnology sectors of losing rights to their research and development (R&D) outcomes due to formal errors or missed deadlines will also be reduced.

This is because new remedies will be introduced to allow applicants to restore their rights within a certain period even after the loss of patent rights due to failure to comply with deadlines for submitting opinions or claiming priority. The Intellectual Property Office expects this to be a significant benefit for individuals and small and medium-sized venture companies that lose rights due to missed deadlines. From 2022 to 2024, individuals and small businesses accounted for about 85% of all patent restoration requests.

The requirement for overseas applicants to appoint a domestic representative will also be relaxed. Currently, overseas applicants must appoint a domestic representative from the patent application stage. However, after joining the PLT, they will be able to handle procedures such as filing patent applications and paying fees directly. Nonetheless, a domestic representative must still be appointed after the application is filed, and electronic filings will require domestic authentication.

The Intellectual Property Office plans to launch and operate a “PLT Accession Task Force” to complete the accession process by 2029. Communication with related industries will also be strengthened.

Kim Yongseon, Commissioner of the Intellectual Property Office, stated, “The PLT is the first treaty we are pursuing since the establishment of the Intellectual Property Office, and upon accession, it will serve as a powerful tool to protect domestic companies’ R&D achievements as patents. Alongside joining the PLT, we will also prioritize shortening examination periods and improving examination quality to enhance the global competitiveness of domestic companies.”

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