Executive Summary
(1) Establishment of grounds for notification of job invention electronic documents
When notifying employee inventions, paper submissions, including electronic documents, will be possible from February 15, 2023. With the implementation of the revised Korea Invention Promotion Act on February 15, 2023, the basis for notification of employee invention electronic documents, such as ▲ reporting of employee inventions, ▲ succession, and ▲ fair compensation, has been prepared. Accordingly, documents including electronic documents pursuant to Article 2, Subparagraph 1 of the Framework Act on Electronic Commerce can be submitted.
(2) Possibility of reorganization of the system for extending the duration of patent rights according to drug approval, etc.
In 1986, after the application system for approval of the extension of the duration of patent rights was introduced under trade pressure from the United States, it was changed to the application system for registration of extension in 1990. Since then, in 1995, the ‘Regulations on the Operation of Extension of Term of Patent Rights’ have been enacted and have been in operation.
Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has set up a TF for a major overhaul of the extension system, listened to opinions from the biopharmaceutical industry, and is promoting revision of major details by referring to overseas cases such as the US, Europe, and Japan in 2023.
The main issues are expected to be the number of patents that can be extended for one product approval, the upper limit on the duration of extended patent rights, and the addition of advanced biopharmaceuticals to inventions subject to extension.