The government will push to overhaul the system to reduce patent examination delays and improve examination quality. By 2029, it will shorten the patent examination waiting period from the current 15 months to within 10 months, and it also plans to expand an ultrafast examination system under which startups in advanced technology fields can receive results within one month.
The Ministry of Intellectual Property announced these plans in the Patent Examination Service Innovation Plan at the 39th meeting of the Presidential Council on Intellectual Property held at Government Complex Seoul on the 20th. This was the first meeting of the Presidential Council on Intellectual Property since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok presided.
The plan was drawn up out of concern that although the scale of domestic patent applications ranks fourth in the world, the speed and quality of examinations do not fully meet the expectations of industry. It reflects criticism that if patent examinations fail to timely capture market trends as technological change accelerates, it could disrupt corporations' commercialization and overseas expansion.
The government will first focus on shortening examination periods. By 2029, it aims to reduce the patent examination waiting period to within 10 months and shorten the final examination completion period, currently about 24 months, to within 16 months. To that end, it will push to gradually increase the number of patent examiners through consultations with related ministries.
It will also broaden the system for startups that need to secure rights quickly. The current ultrafast examination program, which centers on startups in artificial intelligence (AI) and bio, will be expanded to cover all startups in advanced technology fields so they can receive examination results within one month. Conversely, the "late examination" system, which allows corporations to request examination after watching market conditions, will also be revised so that applications and changes can be made more flexibly.
The government will also provide filing guides by new technology field, including AI, so applicants can enhance patent completeness from the filing stage. In addition, to improve existing examination practices that interpret patent scope too narrowly, it will refine examination standards and expand adoption of Europe's three-member consultative examination model.
Quality control will shift from post-checks to pre-checks. By introducing a preventive quality control system that identifies errors and items needing supplementation before notifying applicants of examination results, the government aims to reduce unnecessary procedural delays and lower corporations' time and expense burdens.
Alongside this, the government will invigorate proactive examinations in which applicants and examiners communicate to adjust the scope of rights, and it will raise examiners' understanding of cutting-edge technologies through links with corporations, research institutes and universities. It will also pursue legal and institutional improvements to more effectively protect inventions related to AI and software (SW). Joining the Patent Law Treaty (PLT) will also be pursued to simplify filing procedures and expand procedural remedies.
With this reform, the government plans to raise examination speed to the world's highest level and achieve No. 1 in patent quality, while also increasing the share of overseas filings by domestic corporations. It aims to lift the share of overseas filings from the current roughly 50% to more than 80%, leading to improvements in the industrial property rights trade balance.
Ministry of Intellectual Property Commissioner Kim Yong-seon said, "We will ensure that both corporations and the public can feel changes in both examination speed and quality," and added, "We will push the system forward with urgency so that innovative technologies can translate into tangible patent value."