Revisions to the Enforcement Regulation of the Korean Patent Act ("KPA") and Utility Model Act governing the procedures for correcting inventor information, including the addition of an inventor, went into effect on November 1, 2024. The revised Regulation stipulates that patent applicants are not allowed to add inventors during a period between the issuance of a Notice of Allowance (“NoA”) and the registration of a patent; and also requires the submission of evidentiary document, together with a statement explaining the reason for correction, whenever a correction petition is filed.
▶ Background of Revisions
Prior to the revisions, the Enforcement Regulation of the KPA did not impose any restriction on the timing of correcting inventor information / inventorship, so long as a correction petition is made before the registration of a patent; and, further, such correction could be effectuated simply by filing an amendment to the patent application without submitting any supporting document or evidence.
However, there were instances where such lack of restrictions was abused: For example, a false inventor being added after the termination of examination process (i.e., after issuance of a NoA) to receive a reduction in fees, or a true inventor being wrongfully removed from the list of inventors.
Mindful of these problems, the revisions to the Enforcement Regulation of the KPA are devised to prevent such abuses of the inventorship correction system and to ensure the listing of true inventors.
▶ Restrictions on the Correction Period and Reinforcement of Level of Proof
The revised Regulation (i) imposes restrictions on the timing for correcting inventor information, which was previously allowed to be changed at any time, and (ii) mandates the submission of supporting documents, which were previously required only after the registration of patent, even when the correction petition is made during the examination procedure.
Specifically, during the period between the issuance of a NoA and the registration of a patent, patent applicants are not allowed to add inventors, but may change only such information as inventor’s name, simple typographical errors, or address, inasmuch as the identicalness of the inventor is maintained. As such, the revised rule bans the correction of inventor information during a period between the issuance of a NoA and the registration of a patent, when examination of the propriety of a correction is no longer possible due to the termination of the examination process.
In addition, if a patent applicant wishes to correct inventor information during the examination process before the KIPO, the applicant must submit:
① a statement explaining the reason for correction, and
② supporting documents signed by the applicant and all inventors to be added or corrected.
Furthermore, the amended rules reinforce the level of proof such that when correcting inventor information after patent registration, a petition for correction must be filed along with a statement explaining the reason for correction and supporting documents containing signatures of the patent holder and all inventors of the patent. However, in special circumstances where it is impossible to obtain the signature from an inventor (e.g., owing to death or absence of the inventor), the signature requirement may be waived by way of explaining such special circumstances.
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